Georges Merle (1851–1886) was a French painter known for his outstanding command of the female form. He often submitted works to the Salon in Paris.
His father, Hugues Merle, was also a painter. As Georges rarely signed his early pieces, several of his early works were at first mistakenly attributed to his father.
The Sorceress was the artist’s submission to the Paris Salon exhibition of 1883. The commanding female figure in the act of performing a spell is likely a subject from literature, although the source has yet to be identified. The mysterious symbolism, including voodoo doll, pentacle, Egyptian imagery, and more, can be clarified when the origin of the story is known. Until then, the secrets of The Sorceress remain fascinating and perplexing.
