Paul Alexandre Alfred LEROY (Paris 1860-1942) - Lot 37

Lot n° 37
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1000 - 1500 EUR
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Result : 1 950EUR
Paul Alexandre Alfred LEROY (Paris 1860-1942) - Lot 37
Paul Alexandre Alfred LEROY (Paris 1860-1942) Study for Haman and Mordecai Original canvas Dedicated, titled and signed lower left "A D. Verichin / étude pour le "Mardoché". / Paul Leroy." 73 x 45 cm (old restorations) The work presented here is a study for Haman and Mordecai, a monumental canvas for which Leroy received the Salon Prize in 1884 (no. 1522), now in the Museum of Western and Oriental Art in Odessa, Ukraine. Paul Alexandre Alfred Leroy spent part of his childhood in Odessa and entered the city's École des Beaux-Arts in 1873. Back in France at the age of 17, he was admitted to Alexandre Cabanel's studio in Paris. Awarded prizes at the Salon in 1882 and 1884, he obtained a travel grant that enabled him to set off to discover Egypt, Algeria and Turkey... Already interested in the Orient, these trips enabled him to fill his sketchbooks and enrich his collection of Oriental earthenware and clothing. Along with Baron Arthur Chassériau, Etienne Dinet and a dozen other painters, he was a founding member of the Société des peintres orientalistes français in 1893. He designed the society's emblem and faithfully participated in its exhibitions until 1933. All the objects and souvenirs he accumulated on his travels, he transcribed into genre scenes - such as The Weaver of Bisvira (1889) in the Musée d'Orsay - or religious scenes - such as Jesus in the House of Martha and Mary (1882) in the Beaux-Arts of Rouen. The work we present is a study for Haman and Mordecai, a monumental canvas for which Leroy won the Prix du Salon in 1884, now in the Museum of Western and Oriental Art in Odessa. The scene is taken from the biblical book of Esther. Mordecai, a fourth-generation Judean exile from the kingdom of Judah, lives in Persia with his niece Esther, whom he raises as his own daughter. The young woman enters the harem and becomes the wife of King Ahasuerus. But Mordecai is in conflict with the king's minister, Haman. Haman resented Mordecai's attitude, as he was the only member of the court who refused to bow down to him, a practice forbidden by Judaism. Paul Leroy chose to depict this scene of Mordecai's disdain. Outraged, Haman issued a decree for the extermination of all the Jews in Persia. Mordecai and his niece succeed in influencing the king and thwarting his plans. The day Haman was hanged and fate turned in favor of the Jewish people is still celebrated on Purim.
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