- 159
Simon Michel Liègeois c. 1695-1775 Paris
bidding is closed
Description
- Simon Michel Liègeois
- The Duquesnoy relief
- signed and dated lower right: SML (in compendium) iegeois. 1748:
- oil on canvas, unframed, en grisaille
- 37.5 by 55 cm.
Provenance
Sale, Monte Carlo, Sotheby's, 2 December 1994, lot 22, where acquired.
Exhibited
Possibly Paris, Exposition de l'Académie de Saint-Luc, Paris, 1751, no. 95 (un petit tableau, représentant un bas-relief, d'aprè François Flamand).
Condition
The actual painting is less bright and more greyish in tone than the catalogue illustration suggests. The canvas has stable relining. Some retouchings are visible along the outer edges. The paint surface is under a slightly dirty and glossy layer of varnish, and is under a rather coarse craquelure pattern. Inspection under ultra violet light confirms the aforesaid retouchings and reveals additional tiny retouchings of filled in craquelure in the figures and the goat, as well as a small restored tear of approximately 2.5 cm. in the lower left corner. This lot is offered unframed. (MW)
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."
Catalogue Note
The subject of this picture, a popular one for trompe l'oeil painters, and included in paintings by a broader range of artists such as Desportes, Watteau and Chardin, is François Duquesnoy's celebrated bronze relief. We know little of the long-lived artist Simon Michel, who was presumably of Liègois origins. He became a member of the Academie de Saint-Luc in Paris on 23rd August 1720, and he exhibited there until 1774.