Lot 72: *FRANCOIS-JOSEPH HEIM (1787-1865)

indistinctly signed and dated lower left 1824 oil on canvas Heim began his artistic career at an early age studying in the studio of Vincent (1746-1816). In 1805, at the age of eighteen, he competed in his first Prix de Rome and in 1807 won the Premier Grand Prix with Thésée vainqueur du Minotaure (École nationale supérieure des beaux-arts, Paris). While in Rome, and under the tutelage of Lethière, he made copies after Michelangelo and Bolognese masters of the 17th century. On his return to Paris he exhibited in the Salons and after the Restoration, Heim, like many other artists of the time, was given commissions by the Church and State. He was requested to depict subjects that ranged from Biblical to decorative historical pictures (for an example see lot 73). In the Salon of 1824 Heim exhibited a large canvas of The Sack of Jerusalem by the Romans (currently in the Musée du Louvre, Paris). This grandiose painting displayed Heim's talent for translating energy and drama onto canvas. The present composition is one of two known preparatory sketches for this larger picture. Literature: J.P. Cuzin, "François-Joseph Heim (1785-1865), peintre d'esquisses", Bulletin de la Société de l'histoire de l'art français, 1992, p. 206, illus. fig. 15 Probably I. Julia, Les années romantiques, La peinture française de 1815 à 1850, catalogue of the exhibition, 1995, under cat. no. 111 (the dimensions listed differ slightly)