French school of the first third of the 19th century, possibly LOUIS BOULANGER (Vercelli, Italy, 1806 - Dijon, France, 1867) in the manner of THEÓDORE GÉRICAULT (Rouen, 1791 - Paris, 1824).
"Suicide of Ivan Mazeppa", 1820-1830.
Oil on oiled paper adhered to canvas.
Size: 29.5 x 40 cm; 54 x 43 cm (frame).
This work, carried out in the middle of the romantic period, represents the torture of Ivan Mazeppa and derives from the poem that Lord Byron published with this subject in 1819. This poem is the terminus post quem, from which all the other artistic creations on this theme emerged throughout the 19th century. Théodore Géricault was the first to paint this subject in 1821, in a style and technique similar to the present sketch. Given Géricault's influence among the younger painters and followers of the emerging Romanticism of the time, it could be said to have been intentionally executed in Géricault's manner (perhaps by a painter close to him, or at least by someone very well acquainted with his personal technique). Eugène Delacroix, for his part, was also interested in this subject, and he depicted exactly the same composition as the present sketch in a sketch executed in 1823. The attribution to Louis Boulanger is considered, as he, together with Eugène Devéria and Eugène Delacroix, were painters who were very successful at the Salon of 1827 (in fact, they came to be known as "The School of 1827"). The works that these painters presented were respectively "The torture of Mazeppa", "The birth of Henry IV" and "The death of Sardanapalus". All of them were very large. Boulanger's work, which won a medal, is so large that it necessarily differs from this small sketch. However, some compositional aspects do coincide between the two works. In short, this is a work from the height of French Romanticism, whose author could well be Louis Boulanger, emulating the style, technique and some compositional elements of Géricault.
A French painter, lithographer and illustrator in the Romantic style, Louis Boulanger trained at the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He attended the studio of Guillaume Guillon Lethière and received a solid classical training. After unsuccessfully applying for the Prix de Rome in 1824, he became a companion of Eugène Devéria and a close friend of Victor Hugo, and frequented Parisian romantic circles. He achieved considerable success at the Salon of 1827, winning a medal for his Suplicite de Mazeppa (a work now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Rouen), in a salon that was of exceptional importance for the new school. He portrayed many personalities of the time, the most famous of which is the portrait of Balzac in the habit of a monk (now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Tours). He also produced numerous illustrations for the works of Victor Hugo and Alexandre Dumas, as well as a series of bizarre lithographs on fantastic subjects, in accordance with the frenzied fashion of certain artists of the time.