The Duel After the Masquerade

History

In 1859, William Thompson Walters, purchased The Duel After the Masquerade at the National Academy of Design in New York for $2,500. The painting is a replica of the Suite d'un bal masque painted by Gérôme for the duc d'Aumale and exhibited at Gambart's London Gallery in 1858. The original is part of the collection of the Musée Condé in Chantilly, France. It was not unusual for artists to replicate their own paintings and other versions had also been painted for Prince Alexander of Russia and for the Ali Pacha. Walters asked the manager of the exhibition at the National Academy of Design for a letter of authentication from Gérôme and a comparison of the work he had purchased to the original.

The original became famous almost overnight with the critics of the salon speculating about Gerome's sources for the incident depicted in the painting. In a poll taken in the winter of 1909-1910, Baltimoreans were asked to identify their fifty-five favorite works of art and The Duel After the Masquerade topped the list.

Composition

The scene is set on a gray winter morning in the Bois de Boulogne, trees bare and snow covering the ground. A man dressed as a Pierrot has been mortally wounded in a épée du combat duel and has collapsed into the arms of a Duc de Guise. A surgeon, dressed as a doge of Venice, tries to stop the flow of blood, while a Domino holds his head.

The survivor of the duel, dressed as an American Indian, walks away with his second, Harlequin, leaving behind his weapon and some feathers of his headdress, towards his carriage, shown waiting in the background.

The bizarreness of the scene in regards to the brightly colored costumes turns to pathos at the sight of blood on the Pierrot.

Exhibition History