Lot 212
  • 212

Jean-Baptiste Oudry

Estimate
250,000 - 350,000 USD
Log in to view results
bidding is closed

Description

  • Jean-Baptiste Oudry
  • "L'Oranger"
  • signed and dated on the jardinière J B. Oudry 1740
  • oil on canvas in a gilt oak frame (Wood, Other-Oak)

Provenance

Commissioned by the Marquis de Beringhen, known at the Court of Louis XV as "Monsieur le Premier," for his Château d'Ivry;
With Galerie Charpentier, Paris, by 1951;
Private Collection, Paris by 1955;
Private Collection, England;
From whom acquired by Harari & Johns, London, 1994;
From whom purchased by the present owner, 1994. 

Exhibited

Paris, Salon du Louvre, 1 September 1741, and following days, no. 35;
Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Natures mortes françaises du XVIIe siècle à nos jours, 1951-52, no. 136, reproduced

Literature

J. Locquin, Catalogue Raisonné de l'oeuvre de Jean-Baptiste Oudry, peintre du roi (1686-1755), Paris 1912, no. 70;
G. de Lastic, "Les devants de cheminée," in Connaissance des Arts, no. 39 (May 1955), pp. 26-31, reproduced p. 30;
M. Faré, La Nature morte en France:  son histoire et son evolution du XVIIe au XXe siècle, Geneva 1962, v. II, reproduced fig. 352;
M. and F. Faré, La Vie Silencieuse en France:  La nature morte au XVIIIe siècle, Fribourg 1976, p. 118, reproduced fig. 190;
H.N. Opperman, Jean-Baptiste Oudry, New York & London 1977, v. I, no. P506, p. 551, reproduced v. II, fig. 281.

Condition

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting on canvas was lined in the early 20th century using glue as an adhesive. The paint layer is stable and the lining is sufficient. The paint layer is clean. The varnish is a little dull yet is effective. There are less retouches here than to many pictures from this period and although there is a slightly thin quality to some of the darker colors in the background and there is some retouching attending to this, the plant itself and the pot in which it is planted are for the most part un-restored. There is what appears to be a restoration in the leaves in the lower left of the tree. Otherwise, the picture is in very good state. As is very often the case, if the restoration were to be reexamined then the background could be restored more accurately, yet overall the painting is in very good condition.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Catalogue Note

The present painting was one of fourteen that Oudry exhibited at the 1741 Salon.  In October of that year, the Mercure de France listed Oudry's pictures, commenting that "M. Oudry is always sure to please with the happy imitations of Nature that his brush produces."1  Listed as no. 35 in the Salon livret, the present work was one of four executed for the Marquis de Beringhen, an important patron to Oudry and a prominent member of the Court of Louis XV known as "Monsieur le Premier" because of his preferential status with the king.  Although the wording in the livret is a bit ambiguous, it seems likely that all four of the works commissioned by the Marquis were done as "devants de Cheminée," or fireplace covers.  Such covers were both utilitarian  -- necessary for keeping the elements and cold breezes out of homes during the months the fireplaces were not in use -- and decorative.   In his 1955 article on the subject, Lastic mentions that another popular method for filling fireplaces during periods of disuse was to fill them with small trees and flowering shrubs in decorative pots.  Thus, Oudry's L'Oranger is not only a lovely and faithful depiction of plant life and luxurious porcelain, but also a witty trompe l'oeil.2  

1.  Mercure de France, October 1741, pp. 2287-2288:  "M. Oudry est toujours sûr de plaire dans les heureuses [sic] imitations de la Nature que son Pinceau produit."
2.  Lastic, p. 30.  Lastic also supposes that this work was later cut down from its original dimensions to create an easel painting, as its vertical orientation does not correspond to the dimensions of French fireplaces of the period.