292 - ‡ ALEXANDRE CABANEL (FRENCH 1824-1889)THE MERCHANT OF VENICEOil on canvasSigned and dated '1881' (lower left)87.3 x 122.9cm (34¼ x 48¼in.)Provenance:Goupil & Co., Paris (1881)The Collection of Mr. Jay GouldThe Collection of Miss. Helen GouldThe Collection of Ralph P. Ross, New JerseyPrivate Collection, New Jersey (circa 1950)Sale, Christie's, New York, The Age of Elegance, 11 November 1998, lot 75 (for $101,500)The collection of The Honorable C. Boyden GrayExhibited:Paris, Salon, 1881, no. 350.New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Retrospective Exhibition of American Paintings, Loan Collections and Recent Gifts to the Museum, November 1895-May 1896, exh. cat., p. 72, no. 215 (Miss Helen Gould loan)In The Merchant of Venice, Alexandre Cabanel depicts the scene from Act 3, Scene 2 of Shakespeare’s play, where Bassanio chooses between the three caskets to win Portia’s hand in marriage. He chooses the plain lead casket over the more valuable gold and silver caskets, and discovers Portia’s portrait inside, proving that he has chosen correctly.Cabanel was a favourite painter of Napoleon III and received commissions from King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the Tsar of Russia. He was one of the leading academic painters of the 19th century. His teacher, François-Édouard Picot, encouraged him to focus on historical and literary subjects. In this painting, Cabanel’s detailed costumes, setting and objects create a sense of historical authenticity and bring Shakespeare’s scene to life.

‡ ALEXANDRE CABANEL (FRENCH 1824-1889)THE MERCHANT OF VENICEOil on canvasSigned and dated '1881' (lower left)87.3 x 122.9cm (34¼ x 48¼in.)Provenance:Goupil & Co., Paris (1881)The Collection of Mr. Jay GouldThe Collection of Miss. Helen GouldThe Collection of Ralph P. Ross, New JerseyPrivate Collection, New Jersey (circa 1950)Sale, Christie's, New York, The Age of Elegance, 11 November 1998, lot 75 (for $101,500)The collection of The Honorable C. Boyden GrayExhibited:Paris, Salon, 1881, no. 350.New York, The Metropolitan Museum of Art, Retrospective Exhibition of American Paintings, Loan Collections and Recent Gifts to the Museum, November 1895-May 1896, exh. cat., p. 72, no. 215 (Miss Helen Gould loan)In The Merchant of Venice, Alexandre Cabanel depicts the scene from Act 3, Scene 2 of Shakespeare’s play, where Bassanio chooses between the three caskets to win Portia’s hand in marriage. He chooses the plain lead casket over the more valuable gold and silver caskets, and discovers Portia’s portrait inside, proving that he has chosen correctly.Cabanel was a favourite painter of Napoleon III and received commissions from King Ludwig II of Bavaria and the Tsar of Russia. He was one of the leading academic painters of the 19th century. His teacher, François-Édouard Picot, encouraged him to focus on historical and literary subjects. In this painting, Cabanel’s detailed costumes, setting and objects create a sense of historical authenticity and bring Shakespeare’s scene to life. ‡ Indicates that the lot is being sold whilst subject to temporary importation and that import VAT at the reduced rate (currently 5%) calculated on the hammer price is due.