Lot 853: Löwen mit totem Pferd und Schlange.

Signed bottom right: Raden Saleh ft. Oil on Cardboard. 30,5 x 40,5cm. Framed.
Overleaf side:
An old gummed label of the artists' materials dealer R. Davy, London.

Expertise:
Dr. Werner Kraus. Passau, 19. September 2007:

(...) The painting presented here have been unkown to research up to now and is an intersting supplement to the oeuvre of the artist which consists of more than 200 paintings. During 1838 a new motif appeared in the work of Raden Sarief: Lions, tigers and snakes as well as some horses. The new imagery, which should be seen as preliminary to his hunting scenes, was induced by his friendship to the animal trainer and showman Henri Martin (...)

The first known painting of Raden Saleh which contains lions, horses and snakes was painted in 1838. The last in 1841 in Dresden. It became property of Duke Ernst II of Saxony, Coburg and Gotha and currently can be found in the Museum Schloss Friedenstein in Gotha. This painting sets the connection between the earlier animal paintings and the later hunting depictions and is the conclusion of this period. Snakes did not appear in Saleh's works thereafter. The discussed painting's date of origin can therefore be presumed between 1838 and 1841.

Based on the painterly and technical qualities of the work at hand, I am inclined to set the date of origin later than the above mentioned works. Presumably it originated in the summer of 1839 in Berlin where Saleh, according to his own assertion completed three copies, three sketches and six originals. The here presented work can be one of these originals(...)


We thank Dr. Werner Kraus for his kind support.