Jean-Louis HAMON (1821-1874) Cantharide slave Oil on paper mounted on canvas signed lower right lower right. Restorations on the edges. 40 x 47 cm Exhibition : Salon des artistes vivants de 1857, n°1297. At first glance, the subject of this pre-symbolist painting is enigmatic. Its title, revealed at the 1857 Salon, sheds light on its subject. The painting's purpose lies in the presence of this insect, which, dried and ground into powder, has been known since Antiquity for its aphrodisiac virtues.

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