Eugène DELACROIX wished to discover the Indian bayadères.

Eugène DELACROIX (1798-1863)

Autographed letter signed to the painter Louis Godefroy Jadin.

Two octavo pages. Autograph address and postal cancellations on the 4th ^sheet .

Paris. August 19 [1838]

“Dauzats had promised to show me the bayadères…”

Passionate about the Orient and exoticism, Delacroix desperately wanted to see the Indian bayadères who came to perform in Paris.

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“My dear Jadin, Dauzats promised to show me the bayadères [Indian sacred dancers] before my departure. I don't know his address, but since it will be quite some time before I can write to him, would you be so kind as to write to him yourself on my behalf to remind him? I am leaving without fail on Wednesday. There is therefore no time to lose. I fear being away too long to see them again upon my return, and I am extremely eager to see them. I therefore await news from him, trusting in what he has led me to hope for . (…) But Wednesday is just around the corner . Farewell and a thousand regards. Eug. Delacroix.”

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From 1838 onwards, the custom of bringing troupes of Indian dancers to Europe for lovers of exotic art spread. Théophile Gautier even covered the arrival in France of a troupe of dancers and musicians from Pondicherry. This same troupe performed for eighteen months in France, including three weeks in Paris during the summer of 1838 at the Théâtre des Variétés: "these dazzling bayadères, whose bodies proclaim a strength and purity of blood unknown in our civilization," caused a sensation in the capital.

Adrien Dauzats (1804-1868), an Orientalist painter from Bordeaux and a close friend of Delacroix, was one of his literary executors. It was Dauzats who invited Delacroix to participate in the Salon des Amis des Arts in Bordeaux from 1851 to 1862.

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Bibliography:

The stages of the Indian presence in France. C. Servan-Schreiber / V. Vuddamalay. 2007.

. Delacroix. Newspaper. 1822-1863. Editions Plon. 1996.