Paume / Tennis / Arnaud-Durbec - Lot 186

Paume / Tennis / Arnaud-Durbec Jean-Baptiste-François ARNAUD-DURBEC (1827–1910) A game of paume in the castle courtyard Watercolor on paper, signed lower right and dated 1886 23 x 40 (unframed; 48 x 66 framed under glass) A reconstruction of a game of paume in the time of Ronsard and the Pré-aux-Clercs: the ring game in the distance, the four players in ruff collars… Everyone’s eyes are fixed on the ball, the “esteuf.” What joy in such a small racket. The artist flitted from opera house ceilings to the barricades of the Paris Commune. Here he paints a golden age of tennis’s ancestor, just as paume was declining in the face of the rise of lawn tennis. A beautiful tribute. The rules can be found in Garsault’s work.