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Henri Gervex (1852-1929)

Rolla 1878

Oil on canvas
Musée d'Orsay, Paris. (viewed at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bordeaux)

Gervex was a superbly gifted French painter of mythological scenes and representations of modern life. This painting scandalised the French artistic firmament, condemned as immoral by the critics. The hastily discarded garments and the emerging walking stick act as explicit metaphors of sexual intercourse.

This painting is based on the narrative of a long poem by Alfred de Musset published in 1833. The poem recounts the destiny of a young bourgeois, Jacques Rolla, who falls into a life of gambling and debauchery. He becomes infatuated with Marie, a teenage prostitute, with whom he has just spent a night of passion. Rolla is seen here standing by the window, financially ruined. He takes a last look at the sleeping Marie before committing suicide.

With the demise of Marilyn Monroe in mind, (she was found naked in bed), the idea came to me to use a similar scenario, an assassin about to make his escape having neutralized a politically embarrassing, wayward, actress.