Isidore Pils : Study For "hebe Serving Ambroisis" Opera Garnier

Well, I was not so far in writing the text below since they both worked for the Opera Garnier! But thanks to the expertise of Hubert Duchemin who put me on the path and whom I thank very much here, I can refine it and say that it is in fact a first thought for the figure of Hebe in the center of box "Minerva fighting the brutal Force before the assembly of Olympus gathered" by Isidore Pils (1813-1875).

This charming study is not very far, certainly more round and soft, those Carpeaux which we often forget that in addition to sculpture, he also practiced painting in Master. I would place it in a romanticism ending, around 1850/60, representation of a young woman in Hebe, the Greek goddess who served Nectar and Ambrosia to the Gods of Olympus before being replaced by the new conquest of Zeus , the young Ganymede.
On this sketch, the left hand holds a pitcher while the right seems to hold a cup that is not yet painted. Some sharp brushstrokes suggest left Zeus in his form of eagle.
Oil on canvas free originally, it was rentoilée to be mounted on frame 24.5 X 32.5 cm, presented in a pretty golden baguette 28 X 36 cm (small accidents), a slight scratch in the varnish at the bottom to the right.
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