24.00 USD
Marvelously accomplished faux nude image by Henri Manuel of Paris, titled "Vérité."
If it were not for the title, which in English, means "Truth," we might have taken our young beauty for a common water nixie, but there is probably much more to this image than just that.
In 1896, a much beloved French painter by the name of Jean-Léon Gérôme produced a magnificent oil painting called, "La Vérité sortant du puits," or "Truth coming out of her well." As the fourth image in this listing, we offer, for your pleasure, but not of course for sale, an image of this painting.
As you can see, this painting might have been titled (a la Kurt Russell in "Tombstone,") "Tell 'em I'm comin', and tell 'em Hell's comin' with me!" :)
Why is Truth so angry? Well, some theorize the artist was painting a declaration of outrage at France's worst political scandal of that decade (some might say, of the 19th century), the Dreyfuss Affair. This was a scandal of monumental proportion, rife with political coverups, antisemitism, and corruption, and one that threatened to tear that proud republic in two.
If this was the intention of the artist, then Truth, who according to the ancient Greek philosopher Democritus, "lies at the bottom of a well," is emerging, scourge in hand, to shame and punish those who sought to suppress her.
But, another possible inspiration for our postcard image might also be laid at Monsieur Gérôme's door. According to WTF Art History, a wonderfully informative site, the painter was once quoted as saying, “thanks to photography, Truth has finally left her well.”
This might account for the far more cheerful demeanor of our Mlle. Vérité, and we can certainly see how photographer Henri Manuel might have appreciated Jean-Léon Gérôme's statement!
So, a gentle and charming spirit of Truth, an angry and vengeful Truth, or the sweetest water nixie ever! Doesn't matter. We LOVE it! :)
A wonderful card in fine condition. Please note that the bottom edge of this card seems to have been a little carelessly trimmed. It's easy for us, in this era of mass production by machine, to forget that in 1900, there was much more room for human error in the production of postcards.
Please examine our high res scans for detail.
Postage is for first class shipping in a secure photo mailer, and we happily combine shipping on all paper goods. If you purchase two cards, the price is the same as for a single card, and when you purchase three or more cards from us at the same time, your shipping will be entirely free, except for international orders which, due to the costs of international shipping will still be charged one card's shipping fees on orders of three or more. We do not charge for insurance or shipping materials, and as of the date of this listing are still charging below our overall cost on shipping.
And please come visit our blog at:
redpoulaine.blogspot.com
where we post biographical and historical tidbits, images of cards and photographs for sale, some already sold but remembered fondly, related images of historical interest and sometimes even images of items that have not yet arrived in the shop, but that are expected to arrive soon, as well as coupon codes, links to other related sites, and more!