Charles Sprague PEARCE (Boston, 1851 - Paris, 1914) Hörgabrud Original canvas In the center right, in gold letters: "HORGABRUD Monogrammed lower right: "CSP On the reverse, inscription in pencil on the frame: "5739" and stencil label: "EX" (for "exempted" from passing before the Salon jury) 183,5 x 107 cm Provenance: Sale by Me Thierry de Maigret, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, December 10, 2001, n° 170. Exhibition : Paris, Salon des Artistes français, 1894, no. 1428 (hors concours). Bibliography : A. Alexandre in, Le Salon de Champs-Élysées, Paris, 7th year, n° 1981, 30 April 1894, p. 2. Originally from Boston, Pearce came to study in Paris in 1872 on the advice of William Morris Hunt, a former student of Couture. He entered Bonnat's private studio and in 1873, he left for Egypt and painted many Egyptian subjects. Back in Paris, he became part of the circle of Bridgman, with whom he had sailed on the Nile, of Ramsey and Blashfield. He settled in Auvers-sur-Oise in 1885. He painted mainly rural scenes in the tradition of Bastien-Lepage, reapers and shepherds. Pearce played an important role among American artists living in Paris, as he was a member of many juries. In 1893, on the occasion of the Chicago World's Fair, a reconstructed Viking ship had reached the United States in only forty days, whereas the replica of one of Christopher Columbus' caravels had made the trip in three months. This supported the theory that the Scandinavians had discovered the American continent. At the same time, plays by Ibsen and Strindberg were being staged in Paris. It was in this context that Pearce, breaking with his peasant vein, exhibited this painting at the 1894 Salon, for which he was awarded the Legion of Honor. Hörgabrud is an enigmatic character from Norse mythology. According to legend, during the naval battle of Hjörungavagr between the Vikings and Jarl Hakon, she agreed to give victory to the latter after having received a child as a sacrifice. With her right arm brandished, she would have shot an arrow from each of her fingers, never missing its target. It is probably to this episode that Pearce alludes by presenting this large female figure standing at night, torch in hand. Here Pearce yields to the symbolist temptation.