Jules Sanson - The Arrival Of The Young Girl At The Monastery On The Shores Of Lake Como

Jules SANSONActive in the 1830s and 1840sThe arrival of the young girl at the monastery on the shores of Lake ComoOil on canvas27 x 35.5 cm (31.5 x 39.5 cm with the frame)Signed lower right "JS" Countersigned on the bone "Jules Sanson"Title and dated on the back "Lake of Como / 1848"Jules Sanson, is a French painter of the Romantic period who exhibited at the Paris Salon in the 1830s, notably Italian subjects.Our painting is located and dated on the back "Lake of Como 1848". This is a scene undoubtedly taken from a novel of the time. A young girl seems to arrive at a monastery overlooking Lake Como perhaps to take refuge there. On the right, we can see a niche with a statue of the Virgin and Child. Perhaps this is a character from Stendhal's Charterhouse of Parma, published in 1838. We are thinking in particular of Clélia Conti, Fabrice Del Dongo's love, who made a vow to the Madonna to never see Fabrice Del Dongo again, who was named a canoness and whom Duchess Sanseverina called "her young friend from Lake Como." There is still an ancient monastery overlooking the shores of Lake Como in Varenna, which was dedicated to the Virgin.