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拍品专文
One of the leading painters of the Romantic movement, Scheffer was strongly inspired by literary themes, drawn in particular from Dante, Byron and Goethe.
Goethe's Faust, which was also treated by other Romantic painters such as Eugène Delacroix and Gustave Doré, provided Scheffer with a rich vein of inspiration for almost 30 years, and was the subject of eight major compositions by the artist. The present work depicts Faust in study, striking his infamous bargain with the devil, Mephistopheles, to whom he relinquished his soul in exchange for magic powers. It was painted two years after Scheffer's last Salon submission, Faust and Marguerite in the Garden, exhibited in 1846. Scheffer's depiction of Mephistopheles is here particularly demonic, stressing his claw like fingers, red eyes and wrinkled features, as he waits patiently for Faust to ponder his ultimately fatal decision.
Goethe's Faust, which was also treated by other Romantic painters such as Eugène Delacroix and Gustave Doré, provided Scheffer with a rich vein of inspiration for almost 30 years, and was the subject of eight major compositions by the artist. The present work depicts Faust in study, striking his infamous bargain with the devil, Mephistopheles, to whom he relinquished his soul in exchange for magic powers. It was painted two years after Scheffer's last Salon submission, Faust and Marguerite in the Garden, exhibited in 1846. Scheffer's depiction of Mephistopheles is here particularly demonic, stressing his claw like fingers, red eyes and wrinkled features, as he waits patiently for Faust to ponder his ultimately fatal decision.