French, 1752-1825
The Leave-Taking: A Scene from the Story of Paul and Virginia
Oil on metal
12 5/8 x 18 1/8 inches (32.5 x 46 cm)
Frame 17 x 22 1/4 inches (43.3 x 56.5 cm)
Provenance:
Private collection, New York
The novel Paul et Virginie (Paul and Virginia), published in 1788 by Jacques-Henri Bernardin de Saint-Pierre (1737-1814), tells the tragic story of a boy and girl raised as brother and sister on the French colonial island of Mauritius. As they approach adulthood, they fall in love; however, their families try to keep them apart. This scene shows the lovers' farewell as Virginie's mother forces her to leave the island for Europe. Eventually, Virginie returns, but she is drowned in a storm offshore, an event witnessed by Paul, who soon thereafter dies of grief. This melodramatic story, a precursor to the Romantic movement, was a literary sensation, translated into several languages, and widely read in Europe throughout the 19th century.

Painted on two joined sheets of metal, probably tin. Some shadows (on the tree at center, on the drapery; and on the ground) reinforced.

Painted on two joined sheets of metal, probably tin. Some shadows (on the tree at center, on the drapery; and on the ground) reinforced.

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