尼古拉·迪迪埃·博蓋

Hauser Collection, Caracas;
By whom sold, New York, Sotheby's, 4 June 1980, lot 207;
There acquired by the late owner.

New York, Colnaghi, Claude to Corot: The Development of Landscape Painting in France, 1 November - 15 December 1990, no. 56.

A. Wintermute, ed., Claude to Corot: The Development of Landscape Painting in France, exhibition catalogue, New York 1990, pp. 259-161, cat. no. 56, reproduced p. 260, plate 56.

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 work is in lovely condition. The canvas has a European lining. The painting seems to be clean and lightly varnished. The cracking in the sky is very slightly raised, but it is certainly not disturbing. There is one tiny unrestored paint loss in the upper center of the sky. Throughout the remainder of the painting, although some of the foliage reads quite strongly under ultraviolet light, the only retouches are to two losses in the tree trunk behind the figure group and to one loss to the right of the male figure on the far right of the painting.
"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."

Nicolas-Didier Boguet was one of the leading French classical landscape artists working in Italy around the turn of the nineteenth century.  Born in Chantilly in 1755, he enrolled at the age of twenty-two at the Académie Royal in Paris.  After completing his studies in 1782, Boguet received a number of commissions, including one from Louix XVI's ambassador, Cardinal de Bernis, that brought him to Rome.  Intending to stay for only six months, Boguet was seduced by the country and remained in Italy for the rest of his career, later becoming a member of the Academy of St. Luke in Rome as well as a member of the Florence Academy.  Although he trained as a history painter, he established his reputation in Italy as a painter of landscapes.  Such works arose after spending his summer months roaming the Tuscan countryside, sketching the natural world around him, from peaceful vistas, to rolling mountains, lush foliage, and gentle streams.  Just as they were popular during his lifetime among aristocratic clientele, which included Napoleon, Boguet's enchanting views continue to captivate audiences today.  

Dated 1792, this verdant and warm Arcadian landscape arose during Boguet's first Roman period (1789-1797), during which time he often included episodes from Roman history and mythology.  Here, he illustrates a scene from Virgi's fifth Eclogue in which two shepherds, Menalcus and Mopsus, stumble upon the tomb of Daphnis, a famed poet and Sicilian shepherd known for Bacchic revelry.  The Latin inscription found on his tomb reads, in translation, "I woodland Daphnis, blazoned among stars, guarded a lovely flock, still lovelier I" (Virgil, Eclogues,  V, 43-44).¹

This composition was engraved by Boguet in 1792, and a comparable drawing, likely preparatory in nature, is now preserved in the Gabinetto Nazionale delle Stampe in Rome.²  To meet the strong demand of his clientele, Boguet is known to have made repetitions and variations of his works, and another version of this composition, titled Paysage du Latium, is recorded in a Viennese private collection.³

1. See Wintermute, under Literature, p. 261.  See also P.J. Alpers, The Singer of Eclogues: A Study of Virgilian Pastoral with a new translation of the Eclogues, Berkely, 1979.
2.  See G. Fusconi, I Paesaggi di Nicolas-Didier Boguet e I Luoghi tibulliani, dale collezioni del Gabinetto Nazionale delle stampe, exhibition catalogue, Lungara 1984, p. 110, cat.no. 70, reproduced p. 108.
3.  56 by 77 cm.  See M.M. Aubrun, “Nicolas-Didier Boguet (1755-1839) un emule du Lorrain,” Gazette des Beaux-Arts, LXXXIII, 1974, p. 326, cat. no. 3, reproduced.