Maurice Siville, from 1888; to Armand Siville, before 1923; acquired at the sale of the latter's library ("Bibliothèque de M. A. Siville") at Galerie J. et A. Le Roy Frères, Brussels, 23/01/1923
Matériel
paper
Note
This drawing is dedicated to the Belgian writer Maurice Siville and was made on the occasion of his first book, Contes pour l’aimée (1888). Delville likely drew inspiration from Gustave Doré’s wood engraving Achan lapidé (Achan Stoned), published in 1866 in La Sainte Bible selon la Vulgate, which illustrates Joshua 7:19–26 (identified by Adrien Porée, Saint-Gilles, written correspondence, 28/11/2025). The reclining pose of Achan, with arms outstretched and beset by a flock of birds, shows clear visual similarities to Delville’s composition. However, the absence of stones in Delville’s work suggests that he did not intend to represent the biblical narrative literally. The swarm of crows attacking the half-nude man in Delville’s drawing recalls instead the Stymphalian birds, the man-eating creatures from Greek mythology that preyed upon anyone who came to hunt them. When the work entered the collection in 1923, it was described as "Voyageur endormi attaqué par une légion de corbeaux". There is no immediate connection with one of the stories in Contes pour l’aimée, and it should be understood that Delville conceived this dream-like drawing in a Symbolist sense. Another of Delville’s drawings, La Mort, similarly depicts a man being killed by a large bird (auctioned at Vanderkindere, Brussels, 13 December 2016, lot 165).
Exposition (note)
2017, March-September, Japan, Utsunomiya Museum of Art, Hyogo Prefectural Museum of Art, The Bunkamura Museum of Art, "Fantastic Art in Belgium"
Voyageur endormi attaqué par une légion de corbeaux
[Drawing]. - 1888. - 1 drawing
: charcoal on paper ; 840 x 1060 mm. - This drawing is dedicated to the Belgian writer Maurice Siville and was made on the occasion of his first book, Contes pour l’aimée (1888). Delville likely drew inspiration from Gustave Doré’s wood engraving Achan lapidé (Achan Stoned), published in 1866 in La Sainte Bible selon la Vulgate, which illustrates Joshua 7:19–26 (identified by Adrien Porée, Saint-Gilles, written correspondence, 28/11/2025). The reclining pose of Achan, with arms outstretched and beset by a flock of birds, shows clear visual similarities to Delville’s composition. However, the absence of stones in Delville’s work suggests that he did not intend to represent the biblical narrative literally. The swarm of crows attacking the half-nude man in Delville’s drawing recalls instead the Stymphalian birds, the man-eating creatures from Greek mythology that preyed upon anyone who came to hunt them. When the work entered the collection in 1923, it was described as "Voyageur endormi attaqué par une légion de corbeaux". There is no immediate connection with one of the stories in Contes pour l’aimée, and it should be understood that Delville conceived this dream-like drawing in a Symbolist sense. Another of Delville’s drawings, La Mort, similarly depicts a man being killed by a large bird (auctioned at Vanderkindere, Brussels, 13 December 2016, lot 165). - S.III 41961.
