'Mazeppa' — 19th-Century French Romanticism
1823

About the Item

Théodore Géricault and Eugène Lami, 'Mazeppa' from the series 'Oeuvres de Lord Byron', lithograph, 1823, 2nd state of 3, Delteil 94. Rendered by Théodore Géricault and Eugène Lami; printed by Villain; published by Gihaut Frères. A fine impression on off-white wove paper, with wide margins (1 3/4 to 3 1/4 inches), in very good condition. Archivally matted to museum standards, unframed. Lettered 'Géricault & Eug. Lami 1823'; and 'Litho de Villain'; with the title lettering 'MAZEPPA (ch. XVII)'; 'Chez Gihaut Boul. d des Italiens No 5'; and the line from Lord Byron's poem: 'Le Coursier tente de s'élancer sur le rivage qui semble le repousser, ses poils et sa crinière sont lissants et humides... (Lord Byron)'. 'The wild steed's sinewy nerves will strain Up the rebelling the bank We gain the top: a boundless plain Spreads through the shadow of the night.' Image size 6 1/4 x 8 3/16 inches (159 x 208 mm); sheet size 10 3/4 x 14 1/4 inches (273 x 362 mm). Matted to museum standards, unframed. Collections: British Museum, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Virginia Museum of Fine Arts. ABOUT THE PRINT According to Delteil, the print is part of a series of six lithographs intended to illustrate the works of Lord Byron and published in 1823. Four of them were produced in collaboration with Eugène Lami, the remaining two solely by Eugène Lami. Mazeppa is a narrative poem written by the English Romantic poet Lord Byron in 1819. It is based on a popular legend about the early life of Ivan Mazepa (1639–1709), who later became Hetman (military leader) of Ukraine. Byron's poem was immediately translated into French, where it inspired a series of works in various art forms. The cultural legacy of Mazeppa was revitalized with the independence of Ukraine in 1991. According to the poem, the young Mazeppa has a love affair with a Polish Countess, Theresa, while serving as a page at the Court of King John II Casimir Vasa. Countess Theresa was married to a much older Count. On discovering the affair, the Count punishes Mazeppa by tying him naked to a wild horse and setting the horse loose. The bulk of the poem describes the traumatic journey of the hero strapped to the horse. The poem has been praised for its "vigor of style and its sharp realization of the feelings of suffering and endurance". ABOUT THE ARTIST Géricault's fiery, audacious personality and short life fit the mold of Romantic artists of his era and, along with his controversial paintings, profoundly influenced nineteenth-century art. Notwithstanding about three years of studio training, Géricault was largely self-taught. He copied paintings in the Louvre and traveled to Rome, where he discovered Michelangelo's works and the exuberance of Baroque art. In his enormous 'Raft of the Medusa,' now at the Louvre, Géricault fused Realism and Romanticism, elevating a current event—a shipwreck with few survivors—to the status of monumental art. To achieve authenticity, he used a model of the raft and carefully studied real cadavers—even his friend, Eugène Delacroix, posed for one of the figures. The wreck was attributed to governmental negligence and corruption and the resulting controversy, combined with the painting's veracity, brought Géricault widespread attention. Géricault was also a master of lithography, the sole printmaking medium he employed to produce his breathtaking representations of horses and military subjects, two of his lifelong passions. During his English sojourn of 1820-21, Géricault improved his knowledge of the lithographic technique in the London workshop of Charles Joseph Hullmandel. The most striking result of this experience was the series of twelve lithographs ‘Various Subjects Drawn from Life and on Stone’, also known as ‘The English Set.’ Géricault continued his studies of the horse once he was back in France, producing the renowned series ‘Etudes, de chevaux lithographiés’. Géricault died in 1824 at age thirty-two after a prolonged illness caused by a riding accident. His last major works, discovered almost fifty years after his death, were penetrating portraits of the insane. Like the 'Raft of the Medusa,' they offered a new concept of appropriate subject matter for serious painting.

Creation Year:

1823

Dimensions:

Height: 6.25 in (15.88 cm)Width: 8.19 in (20.81 cm)

Medium:

Lithograph

Movement & Style:

Romantic

After:

Jean Louis Andre Theodore Gericault (1791 - 1824, French)

Period:

1820-1829