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Jules-Claude Ziegler (1804-1856)
The prophet Daniel
Oil on c…
See original version (French)
19
-
Jules-Claude Ziegler (1804-1856)
The prophet Daniel
Oil on c…
See original version (French)
Estimate €2,000 - €3,000
Voluntary lot
Description
Jules-Claude Ziegler (1804-1856)
The prophet Daniel
Oil on canvas
53.5 x 74 cm
The Prophet Daniel in the Lion's Den was exhibited by Jules-Claude Ziegler at the Salon of 1838. In response to the success of this painting, the artist produced several smaller versions, including the one presented here.
Jules-Claude Ziegler (1804-1856) obtained a doctorate in law before entering the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. He became a pupil of François-Joseph Heim (1787-1865) and Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres (1780-1867). He made a name for himself at the Salon of 1833, and benefited from the decoration programme initiated by Louis-Philippe. He is still famous today for his masterpiece, the fresco depicting the History of Christianity, painted between 1835 and 1838 for the cupola of the Madeleine church in Paris. Ziegler temporarily abandoned painting to devote himself to ceramics. In 1839, he founded the Voisinlieu factory in the Oise region of France, producing floral salt stoneware vases until 1843. He was also involved in the emergence of photography, and was one of the founding members of the Société héliographique. He ended his career as curator of the Dijon Museum of Fine Arts.
Le prophète Daniel dans la fosse aux lions (The Prophet Daniel in the Lion's Den) was exhibited at the same time as Louis-Philippe inaugurated the Galerie espagnole, and the work struck critics with its Iberian reminiscences. The journalist Frédéric Mercey compared the prophet Daniel to a "Frenchised monk by Zurbarran" and noted that the angel's grace recalled the art of Murillo (Frédéric Mercey, "Salon de 1838", Revue des Deux Mondes, tome 14, 1838, p. 387-388). Théophile Gautier particularly praised the "zoological fidelity" of the lions, painted with powerful muscles and intense gazes. But he was especially taken with the figure of the angel protector, describing it as "the painter's happiest creation" (Théophile Gautier, Portraits contemporains : littérateurs, peintres, sculpteurs, artistes dramatiques, Charpentier, 1874, p. 273). The painting is now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Nantes. Another autograph replica in a smaller format like the one shown here is in the Musée de Langres.
See original version (French)
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