
Reverse not seen
Commentary
The painting is after Henri Matisse's (1869–1954) 1908 painting L'Ilyssus du Parthénon (location unknown), a color reproduction of which Gorky owned. An identical colorplate was included in the March 1927 issue of the journal, The Dial (vol. LXXXII), appearing between a "comment" by J.S.W. [James Sibley Watson] on Thomas Craven's essay, "Photography and Painting," and an essay by George Saintsbury.1 As the only known color reproduction of the painting printed during Gorky's lifetime, it was likely his source.
Gorky often backdated his paintings and also frequently reworked the same canvas over many years. Here, the date inscribed at lower left, "1926," likely refers to the former scenario. Stylistically, it is more likely that the painting was completed c. 1928–29. It should be noted, however, that when the work was shown in 1951 as part of the Whitney's Memorial Exhibition and, a year later, in 1952, at Princeton University's Loan Exhibition of Paintings and Drawings, the date 1926 was given.
When the Austrian-American artist Mina Boehm Metzger (1877–1975), an early pupil and devoted patron of Gorky's, purchased this painting from the artist's dealer, Julien Levy (1906–1981), on July 5, 1947, Gorky received a total of $960 after the subtracted 20 percent sales commission.
1. George Saintsbury, "Irony," The Dial LXXXII (March 1927): 181–87. J.S.W. [James Sibley Watson], "Comment," in ibid: 180; the comment is written in response to: Thomas Craven, "Photography and Painting," The Dial LXXIX (September 1925): 195–202.