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THE DUEL AFTER THE BALL: IN the Salon of 1857, this Duel of Pierrot, "a melodrama in which the grotesque is mingled with the terrible," obtained an extraordinary success, and of all Gerome's famous paintings it has probably remained the most famous. Seldom indeed in the history of Art has the wit of the draughtsman contrived a stronger group than this in the left of the picture, one which seizes more strongly on the imagination at first sight, and remains longer in the memory. And the skilful combination of the two episodes of modern life most available for the artists purpose—the duel and the masked ball — could only have been found by a painter with a genius for "subjects." Everything counts in this most ingenious picture; every detail contributes to the effect—the white snow on which the figures are silhouetted; the sombre and. misty background; the little shock of surprise with which the eye passes from the mediaeval costumes to the modern carriage in the distance; the North American Indian very strange to Parisian eyes; even to the bits of feather on the ground, which testify to the struggle (though indeed Pierrot could never have fenced so wildly as to cut these from his antagonist's head). The fallen man is a marvel of design, with his grotesque white costume, his trailing, dying legs, and his right arm, which still retains its visor. Martin2001 Satisfaction Guaranteed Policy!
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