Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée

Painted in 1766 with its pendant, Perseus and Andromeda, for M. le chevalier de Saint-Marc for 600 livres each;
Anonymous sale ('Property of a French Noble Family'), New York, Sotheby's, January 24, 2002, lot 53, for $401,750.

Paris, Salon, 1767, no. 27 (pieds trois pouces de large par 1 pied 10 pouces de haut)

L.J.F. Lagrenée, Etat des tableaux faits depuis mon retour de Saint-Petersbourg, no. 134, without date, in M. Sandoz, Les Lagrenée: Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée 1725-1805, vol. I, 1983, p. 364, no. 134;
D. Diderot, Salon de 1767, ed. J. Seznec, J. Adhémar, vol. III, 1983, pp. 22, 102-4;
Avant-coureur 1767, p. 564 (de la volupté et de la grâce);
C. Blanc, Histoire de peintres de toutes les écoles. Ecole française, 1865;
E.M. Bukdahl, Diderot critique d'art, 1980, p. 67;
M. Sandoz, Les Lagrenée: Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée 1725-1805, vol. I, 1983, pp. 210-11, under cat. no. 170 , p. 364, no. 134 (whereabouts unknown)

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 is in beautiful condition and while there are some retouches which have been applied to a few cracks in the figure of Armida and in a few isolated spots elsewhere, there do not appear to be any structural damages or any signs of abrasion. The canvas has been lined and the surface is stable. Although the cracking is very slightly raised, the condition is encouraging and the picture should be hung as is.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present painting and its pendant are listed by Lagrenée in his inventory of works painted after his return from Saint Petersburg, where he was director of the Academy and court painter for Elisabeth, Empress of Russia (1709-1762) from 1760-1762.¹ They were painted for a certain M. de Saint_Marc, who, according to Sandoz, may be identified with one of the sons of Jean-Paul-André des Rasins, Marquis de Saint-Marc (1728-1818).² It may however be argued that the buyer was Jean-Paul-André des Rasins himself, who, following a distinguished military career, established himself in Paris, where he was known in society and in the salons as a man of letters. He is known to have written the libretto for Nicolo Piccini's Adèle de Ponthieu in 1781. Although no sale catalogue of his collection exists, he must have been a vivid collector of contemporary French artists. He also acquired in 1785 Jean-Honoré Fragonard's Two Sisters, in the Metropolitan Museum, New York (inv. no. 53.61.5).

Both paintings were exhibited at the Salon of 1767. Though Diderot was less than complimentary in his review of Rinaldo and Armida, the journal Avant-Coureur praised it for its grandeur and graciousness (de la volupté et de la grâce).³

 

1  See under Literature Lagrenée in Sandoz 1983, p. 364, nos. 134-5.
2  Sandoz 1983, p. 407.
3  Diderot 1983; Avant Coureur 1767.