| | | | | | | | Document | Sale Catalog F-A1145 | |
| Sale Location | Rue du Grox-Chenet, no.o 488, Paris, France | | Seller(s) | Papillon de La Ferté, Denis-Pierre-Jean
from catalog: Feu Cit. ***
from auctioneer's copy: Laferté | | Expert | Lebrun, Jean-Baptiste-Pierre | | Commissaire-Priseur | Landais | | Lugt Number | 5537 | | No. of Painting Lots | 237 | | Notes | The catalogue of this sale describes the contents as having been the property of a deceased citizen but discreetly avoids giving his name. However, J.B.P. Lebrun, the expert for the sale, has annotated the title page of his own copy of the catalogue (at AAP) with the name "Laferté," apparently in reference to Denis-Pierre-Jean Papillon de La Ferté (1727-1794) who had served as the king's Commissaire des Menus-Plaisirs from 1756 until 1792 prior to his arrest and execution by guillotine in 1794. Papillon de La Ferté was known as an accomplished scholar for having written books on subjects as diverse as mathematics -- including one on Copernicus -- and the careers of painters, for which he was sufficiently qualified to be admitted as a member of the Society of Antiquaries at Kassel. In his official position at the French court he played an important role in organizing and maintaining a wide range of cultural events, including the theatre and the opera, exercising considerable influence on style throughout the second half of the century. His collections, presumably assembled over an extended period of time and with more than adequate - but apparently not exceptional - resources to draw upon, are an intimate reflection of his own views on what was considered worthy of display in one's home during the years prior to the Revolution. The bulk of the sale consisted of 151 lots of paintings as well as 75 lots of drawings and gouaches, a larger number than usual, accompanied by just a few prints, some miscellaneous pieces of sculpture and the household furniture, much of it by major ebenistes , most notably Boulle and Cressent. Lebrun's catalogue indicates that the auction, which altogether included 319 lots -- some of which consisted of items that were to be divided at the time of the sale -- was to be held on just one day, 2 Ventôse, an 2 (February 20, 1797), but clearly there were too many lots to be offered on a single day, and the sale must have taken place over a period of at least three days or more.
As was typical for most Parisian collections of the time, the Italian school was represented by just a few canvasses ranging from the sixteenth to the eighteenth century, but in spite of the inclusion of a pair of unusually small portraits of women said to be by Titian, the Italian works were clearly not the strength of the collection. The largest number were small pieces by Flemish and Dutch artists, most of which were land- or cityscapes interspersed with a smaller group of genre scenes. With a few exceptions, these were generally not by the most highly prized artists, though a landscape with travelers by Wouwerman brought 1280 francs, and two pictures by Jacob van Ruisdael and Isaac van Ostade managed to exceed 500 francs, constituting the most expensive items in the sale. But the French school was also well represented, ranging from a peasant interior by Bourdon that fetched 220 francs, to a landscape by Joseph Vernet that was sold for 341 francs. Lebrun himself paid 460 and 170 francs for two busts of young girls by Greuze that he tried unsuccessfully to sell for a profit over the course of the next two years. The drawings and gouaches were almost entirely landscapes by modern French artists, an indication that the owner enjoyed an exceptional familiarity with the draftsmen at work in Paris during his lifetime. Many of the drawings may have been gifts from the artists, intended to curry favor with a man who must have commissioned many projects that would have utilized their skills.
Aside from Lebrun himself, the most active buyer at the sale was the dealer Pierre-Joseph Lafontaine. Lebrun records his name by just two lots, but a number of other pictures for whom no buyer is recorded appeared at Lafontaine's sale held a year later, on Feb.22, 1798. (B. Fredericksen) | | Catalog Location(s) | AAP [photocopy in Provenance Index Sales Files] Expert's copy annot. by J.B.P. Lebrun with many buyers and all prices.
BPG Annot. with some prices It probably belonged to the dealer J.B.P. Lebrun. | | See Also | Sale Contents | | | Art Sales Catalogues Online | | | Digitized Catalog - INHA | | | |
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