Camille SAINT-SAËNS (1835-1921). Autograph manuscript; and L - Lot 163

Camille SAINT-SAËNS (1835-1921). Autograph manuscript; and L.A.S., Las Palmas January 24, 1898, to fellow painter Jean-Léon Gérôme; 1page in-fol. and 3pages in-8. He had told him about a passage from the Aeneid, "which seemed to me suitable to be given as a subject for the Rome competition. [...] It seems to me that there is a pretty picture there, and even several, depending on whether one chooses the moment when the nymph prepares for action, the moment when she bends (pardon me!) her bow, or the moment when the arrow reaches its goal"... Etc. He copied this passage from Nisard's translation, "soft and flat unfortunately"... - Autograph manuscript of this passage from the Aeneid (Book XI, verses 385-867), certified by Gérôme ("Saint-Saëns autograph"): "However, Diana's companion, Opis, had long since stopped on the summit of the mountains, and from there watched the bloody battles in peace"...