Alexandre CABANEL (Montpellier, 1823 - Paris, 1889) Accused lamenting Black pencil, blur. Signed lower center: "Alex Cabanel". Numbered "25" in the upper right corner. Inscribed in ink on the reverse of the mount: "Étude de Cabanel Appartient à J. Bourgais (?)". 48,9 x 32,5 cm Provenance : Probably sale of the workshop, Me Delestre et Chevallier, Paris, Galerie Georges Petit, no. 111 to 173 ("studies for the decoration of the Pantheon: Life of Saint Louis (intercolumn panels.)") or 174 to 189 ("studies for the decoration of the Pantheon: Life of Saint Louis"). Study for the figure at the bottom right of Saint Louis rendering justice, panel of the complete decoration on the history of Saint Louis made by Cabanel in the Pantheon between 1874 and 1878 (see: M. Hilaire and S. Amic, Alexandre Cabanel, la tradition du beau, Montpellier-Cologne, Somogy, 2010, p. 241). This impressively large decoration is Cabanel's greatest work in the field of decorative painting.