Orpheus

Mediums: oil, canvas.
Location: private collection.

About the painting:

This surrealistic painting is one of the famous works of the artist on the theme “Orpheus and Eurydice”, which the author used again in 1950s. The long-high and brightly lit opening-door here is a way of depicting the border of two worlds – with those gates, through which the ancient Greek mythological hero had to pass, descending into the underworld for Eurydice. According to the auction catalog, the painting came from the collection of Monique Fauxove, a French collector, whom Josef Sime met in Rames and with whom he kept in touch as a friend and colleague for a long time.