Jean Leon Gerome, “Duel After a Masquerade Ball”, Oil on Canvas, 1857-59, Walters Art Museum
In 1859, William Thompson Walters, purchased” The Duel After the Masquerade” at the National Academy of Design in New York for $2,500. The painting is a replica of the “Suite d’un Bal Masque” painted by Gérôme for the duc d’Aumale and exhibited at Gambart’s London Gallery in 1858. The original is part of the collection of the Musée Condé in Chantilly, France.
The scene is set on a gray winter morning in the Bois de Boulogne, trees bare and snow covering the ground. A man dressed as a Pierrot has been mortally wounded in a épée du combat duel and has collapsed into the arms of a Duc de Guise. A surgeon, dressed as a doge of Venice, tries to stop the flow of blood, while a Domino holds his head.
The survivor of the duel, dressed as an American Indian, walks away with his second, Harlequin, leaving behind his weapon and some feathers of his headdress, towards his carriage, shown waiting in the background.
The bizarreness of the scene in regards to the brightly colored costumes turns to pathos at the sight of blood on the Pierrot.