The Cleveland Museum of Art

• Provenance
  1977

  (Sale, Sotheby Parke-Bernet, New York, April 28, 1977, lot 209, possibly sold to Noah L. and Muriel Butkin)

  Possibly 1977-1991

  (Noah L. and Muriel S. Butkin, Cleveland, Ohio, given by Muriel S. Butkin to the Cleveland Museum of Art

  1991-

  The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, Ohio

  Provenance Footnotes

  1 The consignor to this auction is not specified in the catalogue, which lists the Lecomte de Nouÿ under the “property of various owners.” The catalogue does not include a price list, but the Butkins made many purchases around this time, so it is possible that they were the buyers of the painting at this sale.  The earlier provenance of this painting is unclear.  A painting by Lecomte de Nouÿ entitled “Le Kieff du Schériff (Souvenir d'Orient)” appeared in the Hôtel Drouot sale of the “F.J.” collection on March 23, 1877 (no. 37).  However, it seems unlikely that this painting is the Cleveland picture, because while the description provided in the catalogue of the man in the painting matches that of the Cleveland picture, the female figure, so important to the composition, is not mentioned.  Furthermore, another version of this composition (see Roger Diederen, From Homer to the Harem: The Art of Jean Lecomte du Nouÿ, no. 86) but without the female figure or knife-wielding cherub, appears in Montgailhard’s 1906 monograph on Lecomte du Nouÿ under the title “Le kief du Schériff.” This painting’s current location is unknown.  What we do know is that the Cleveland painting was likely intended by the artist for direct sale to a private collector: the painting’s content – more graphic than that of the other versions of the composition - may have been considered inappropriate for public display.  
• Citations
  Sotheby Parke Bernet Inc. 19th Century European Paintings. April 28, 1977.

  Diederen, Roger. From Homer to the Harem: The Art of Jean Lecomte Du Nouÿ. New York: Dahesh Museum of Art, 2004.

  Turner, Evan H. "The Year in Review for 1992." The Bulletin of the Cleveland Museum of Art 80, no. 2 (1993): 38-79. Reproduced: p. 60; Mentioned: p. 66 www.jstor.org

  Argencourt, Louise d', and Roger Diederen. Catalogue of Paintings. Pt. 4. European Paintings of the 19th Century. Cleveland: Cleveland Museum of Art, 1974. Mentioned and reproduced: P. 385-387, Vol. II, no. 134

  Bergez, Daniel, and Kate Deimling. Painting the Dream: From the Biblical Dream to Surrealism. New York; London: Abbeville Press Publishers, 2018. Reproduced: P. 110, no. 77

  Bergez, Daniel. Peindre le rêve: des rêves bibliques au surréalisme.
  Paris : Citadelles & Mazenod, 2017. Reproduced and mentioned: p. 110.

  Watson, A.M. "Paul Durand-Ruel and James Duncan of Benmore." The Burlington Magazine 160, no.1384(July 2018): 558-571. Reproduced: p. 564, fig. 10

  Dialer, Corinne. Oneirische Oszillation: Zum Neuzeitlichen Bildthema des Künstlertraums. Hildesheim: Olms; [München]: UB, Universitätsbibliothek Ludwig-Maximilians-Universität München, 2022. Mentioned: P. 166, abb. 128; Reproduced: P. 273, abb. 128

  Provenance Footnotes

  1 The consignor to this auction is not specified in the catalogue, which lists the Lecomte de Nouÿ under the “property of various owners.” The catalogue does not include a price list, but the Butkins made many purchases around this time, so it is possible that they were the buyers of the painting at this sale.  The earlier provenance of this painting is unclear.  A painting by Lecomte de Nouÿ entitled “Le Kieff du Schériff (Souvenir d'Orient)” appeared in the Hôtel Drouot sale of the “F.J.” collection on March 23, 1877 (no. 37).  However, it seems unlikely that this painting is the Cleveland picture, because while the description provided in the catalogue of the man in the painting matches that of the Cleveland picture, the female figure, so important to the composition, is not mentioned.  Furthermore, another version of this composition (see Roger Diederen, From Homer to the Harem: The Art of Jean Lecomte du Nouÿ, no. 86) but without the female figure or knife-wielding cherub, appears in Montgailhard’s 1906 monograph on Lecomte du Nouÿ under the title “Le kief du Schériff.” This painting’s current location is unknown.  What we do know is that the Cleveland painting was likely intended by the artist for direct sale to a private collector: the painting’s content – more graphic than that of the other versions of the composition - may have been considered inappropriate for public display.  
• Exhibition History
  European Orientalists: From Delacroix to Kandinsky. Musée Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, Belgium (October 15, 2010-January 9, 2011); Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung, Munich, Germany (organizer) (January 29-May 1, 2011); Musée des Beaux-Arts, Marseille, Marseille, France (May 20-August 21, 2011).

  Musée Royaux des Beaux-Arts, Brussels (10/15/2010 - 1/9/2011), Kunsthalle der Hypo-Kulturstiftung [organizer] (1/29/2011 - 5/1/2011), and Musée des Beaux-Arts, Marseille (5/20/2011 - 8/21/2011): "European Orientalists: From Delacroix to Kandinsky", ex. cat. no. 148, p. 181.

  From Homer to the Harem: The Art of Jean Lecomte du Nouÿ. Dahesh Museum of Art, New York, NY (organizer) (June 22-September 19, 2004).

  Dahesh Museum of Art (6/22/2004 - 9/19/2004): "From Homer to the Harem: The Art of Jean Lecomte du Nouÿ"

  Signs of Affection: Gifts Honoring the Museum's 75th Anniversary. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (October 27, 1992-January 3, 1993).

  Memorial Art Gallery of the University of Rochester, N.Y.; Neuberger Museum, State University of New York, College at Purchase. Orientalism: The Near East in French Painting 1800-1880 (1982), no. 55, 81 (repr.), 83.

  Provenance Footnotes

  1 The consignor to this auction is not specified in the catalogue, which lists the Lecomte de Nouÿ under the “property of various owners.” The catalogue does not include a price list, but the Butkins made many purchases around this time, so it is possible that they were the buyers of the painting at this sale.  The earlier provenance of this painting is unclear.  A painting by Lecomte de Nouÿ entitled “Le Kieff du Schériff (Souvenir d'Orient)” appeared in the Hôtel Drouot sale of the “F.J.” collection on March 23, 1877 (no. 37).  However, it seems unlikely that this painting is the Cleveland picture, because while the description provided in the catalogue of the man in the painting matches that of the Cleveland picture, the female figure, so important to the composition, is not mentioned.  Furthermore, another version of this composition (see Roger Diederen, From Homer to the Harem: The Art of Jean Lecomte du Nouÿ, no. 86) but without the female figure or knife-wielding cherub, appears in Montgailhard’s 1906 monograph on Lecomte du Nouÿ under the title “Le kief du Schériff.” This painting’s current location is unknown.  What we do know is that the Cleveland painting was likely intended by the artist for direct sale to a private collector: the painting’s content – more graphic than that of the other versions of the composition - may have been considered inappropriate for public display.  
• Cite this Page
  {{cite web|title=A Eunuch's Dream|url=false|author=Jean Lecomte du Nouÿ|year=1874|access-date=17 April 2024|publisher=Cleveland Museum of Art}}

  Provenance Footnotes

  1 The consignor to this auction is not specified in the catalogue, which lists the Lecomte de Nouÿ under the “property of various owners.” The catalogue does not include a price list, but the Butkins made many purchases around this time, so it is possible that they were the buyers of the painting at this sale.  The earlier provenance of this painting is unclear.  A painting by Lecomte de Nouÿ entitled “Le Kieff du Schériff (Souvenir d'Orient)” appeared in the Hôtel Drouot sale of the “F.J.” collection on March 23, 1877 (no. 37).  However, it seems unlikely that this painting is the Cleveland picture, because while the description provided in the catalogue of the man in the painting matches that of the Cleveland picture, the female figure, so important to the composition, is not mentioned.  Furthermore, another version of this composition (see Roger Diederen, From Homer to the Harem: The Art of Jean Lecomte du Nouÿ, no. 86) but without the female figure or knife-wielding cherub, appears in Montgailhard’s 1906 monograph on Lecomte du Nouÿ under the title “Le kief du Schériff.” This painting’s current location is unknown.  What we do know is that the Cleveland painting was likely intended by the artist for direct sale to a private collector: the painting’s content – more graphic than that of the other versions of the composition - may have been considered inappropriate for public display.