Gaston-John Laborde

Essay:

The finished painting was exhibited by Laborde in the 1884 Salon, no 1349. The Pezon family were a popular and well known circus in Paris and specialised in working with big cats. Jean-Baptiste Pezon died in 1897 and by all accounts was lucky to survive until then. An infamous occasion occured in January 1888 when his son, Adrien, shot and killed a lion that was mauling his father. The family tomb is in the Père Lachaise cemetery.

Inscribed au verso: 'La sieste chez Pezon esquisse de tableau exposé au salon de 1884'.

Provenance:

Private Collection, France