Maximilian Neustück Mainz 1756 - 1834 Basel

Provenance: Jean-Jacques, Comte de Sellon (1782-1839), Château d'Allaman, near Geneva; Eugénie-Julie-Amélie Revilliod, née de Sellon; By descent and marriage to Albert-Louis-Auguste de Loriol (1835-1879); Thence by descent. The Sellon d'Allaman provenance: The Château d'Allaman was constructed around the year 1200 on the shores of lake Geneva, to the West of Lausanne. Purchased by the Marquise de Langalerie in 1723, the Savoyard fortress was changed into a hospitable castle. Upon her demise the castle was purchased in 1755 by the young Genevois banker Jean-Gaspard [de] Sellon. His son, Jean de Sellon, assembled a celebrated collection of paintings, including pictures attributed to Giotto, Fra Angelico, Giovanni Bellini, Leonardo, and Raphael.1 It was in Florence that his son, Jean-Jacques de Sellon, learned that Leopold, Grand-Duke of Tuscany, had abolished capital punishment and crime had not risen as a result. Apart from the arts acquired, this discovery was to lay the foundation for his future engagement. Entering the legislative council of Geneva in 1816, Jean-Jacques fought continuously against capital punishment, his credo in the absolute respect for human life led him to fight against slavery, and in 1830 he founded the Society for Peace (Société de la Paix), the first on the Continent, soon after that founded in England and that in the United States of America. A great admirer of Napoleon I, Jean-Jacques offered hospice to many members of that family and other dignitaries, both in the townhouse in Geneva and at the castle d'Allaman. The sizeable collection of paintings inherited was enlarged by portraits of figures that he admired for their compassion in humanity. Many paintings he deposited at the Musée Rath, joining those offered to the public by Madame Rath. 1. See M. Natale, Le goût et les collections d'art italien à Genève du XVIIIe au XXe siècle, Geneva 1980, pp. 66-8. Condition report: The canvas is relined. Retouchings are visible to the naked eye along the left and upper edge. There are three (recent) horizontal tears, each of approx. 10 cms., in the original canvas in the upper centre and upper right. Otherwise the painting is in fine condition. The paint surface is under a clean, but glossy varnish layer. Inspection under UV-light confirms abovementioned restorations and reveals additional retouchings in the sky, the centre and foreground of the composition as well as some minor retouchings in the figures and horses. Offered in a plain gilt wood frame, in good condition. (JD)
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