Daphnis og Cloë.

From the auction notes: Katrine Halkier, “Katalog. 1877–79 Paris og Bonnats atelier” in the exhibition catalogue “Krøyer i internationalt lys”, The Hirschsprung Collection & The Art Museums of Skagen, 2011, mentioned and ill. p. 169. Here, Halkier writes about the painting (in Danish): “When Krøyer came back to Paris after a long stay in Spain, Bonnat recommended that he ended his studies in Paris by painting a large classical composition to be shown at the upcoming Salon. Krøyer sought advice about his painting from his well-read friend and colleague, Karl Madsen. The latter had recently read the Greek poet Longus' classic shepherd's tale about Daphnis and Chloe and suggested this young couple in love as a motif for Krøyer. At the Salon in France the painting did not arouse much interest. The Danish audience, however, received the picture with greater goodwill. When the painting was exhibited in Copenhagen in 1879 in the Industrial Exhibition Building, a critic wrote about the exhibition in Ude og Hjemme on 27 July and highlighted Krøyer's Daphnis and Chloe as the ”Masterpiece“. The critic continued: ”In terms of spiritual content as well as the handling of the lines and in general the entire painterly execution, the work is one of the significant artist's very best“.