GÉRICAULT Théodore (1791-1824).
L.A.S. "Théodore Géricault", Geneva [4 October 1816], to Pierre-Joseph DEDREUX-DORCY; 2 1/2 pages in8, address (small tear in the seal removing some letters).
Rare and beautiful letter written from Geneva during his trip to Rome. [Géricault, after his training in Pierre-Narcisse Guérin's studio, failed to win the Prix de Rome in 1816. He decided, however, to pay for a stay in Italy on his own, to perfect his training in contact with the masterpieces of Italian art. The painter Pierre-Joseph DEDREUX-DORCY (1789-1874), also a pupil of Guérin, was a close friend of Géricault, who died in his arms on January 26, 1824].
If he slept badly, at least he is in Geneva. "I saw magnificent mountains, waterfalls, beautiful forests of fir trees. Geneva is very pleasantly situated. The view of the lake is charming, but all this is not worth the pleasure of seeing one's friends and does not console me for being separated from them"... He evokes with warmth the friendship that binds him to Dorcy, and their separation costs him. He writes him this note "to wish you a good day, to satisfy also my heart which had taken the sweet habit of seeing you every day and which finds itself quite deprived"... He would like to thank him for all his testimonies of affection, "but that is not done, one cannot say, I thank you for loving me, that would be gauche, but one can be touched and well penetrated by it [...] Kiss for me all those who will say they are my friends and try to console them if they feel some pain, I am so happy that I am loved that I would like to be able to do everything so that I am loved even more"... He recommends himself particularly to the memory of his master Guerin to whom he will write "only when I have set foot on the sacred land, it would be an abuse of his kindness to talk to him about Burgundy, Switzerland and my health [...] I want to speak more nobly with my master, to talk to him about the Romans and not about myself, and to finally present him with a style and stories which are worthy of his interest, the heart of a friend is less delicate than the mind of a master"...
