4275 - The Good Samaritan

The Good Samaritan centrally positioned in the middle of the picture, a Samaritan on horseback, dressed in a light-coloured robe and wearing a turban, spots the traveller lying in the ditch; vultures circle above the scene, in the background, an impassable rocky landscape is discernible; a study in the style of the French artist Eugène Delacroix, characterised by the French Romantic’s typical sketchy brushwork, full of dynamic movement; oil on wood, probably still from the 19th century, signed ‘ED’ in the lower left-hand corner; on the reverse, a label reading ‘Städtische Galerie im Städel, Frankfurt, 23 September 1987-10 January 1988, 1 November 1987’ (a retrospective on Eugène Delacroix took place there in collaboration with the Kunsthaus Zürich), on the frame a note attributing the painting, naming the artist and dating it to around 1860 (without naming the artist), signs of ageing, retouching, framed, inner dimensions 35 x 41.5 cm. The RKDLite database contains an index card relating to an old auction at which the painting was sold in 1984 as “Anonymous”; see RKDLite No. 1084829.