Jean Baptiste Jacques Augustin

Estimate

25,000 - 35,000 GBP

bidding is closed

Description

Jean Baptiste Jacques Augustin
Portrait of CHARLES FERDINAND d'artois, DUC DE BERRY (1778-1820)
with curling fair hair, wearing green uniform with red collar and gold lace, with the star of the Order of the St Esprit and other official badges including the Order of the Legion d'Honneur
watercolour on ivory, held in a stamped gilt-metal frame
9 by 7.1 cm.; 3 1/2 by 2 3/4 in.

Provenance

Possibly anonymous sale, Hotel Drouot, Paris, 27 March 1939, lot 56;
Anonymous sale, Bonhams London, 3 July 2001, lot 117

Condition

The miniature is in excellent condition. The colours have retained their freshness and and vibrancy. For further information on this lot please contact either Mark Griffith-Jones (0207 293 5083) or Emmeline Hallmark (0207 293 5407) mark.griffithjones@sothebys.com emmeline.hallmark@sothebys.com
"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

Augustin is considered to be one of the greatest French portrait miniaturist artists of the eighteenth and nineteenth centuries. Famed for his wonderful sense of naturalism, he enjoyed the patronage of both the Bonaparte and Bourbon families.

The Duc de Berry was the younger son of the Comte d'Artois, later King Charles X, King of France and Navarre (1757-1836) and Princess Maria Theresa of Savoy (1756-1805). He left France in 1789 upon the outbreak of the revolution and fought with the émigré army under his cousin Louis Joseph, Prince of Condé (1736-1818). In 1801 he moved to England where he remained for the following thirteen years. Following Napoleon's escape from the island of Elba in 1814, the Duke returned to Paris. His uncle, Louis XIII, appointed him Commander-in-Chief of the army.

In 1816 he married Princess Maria Carolina of Naples and Sicily (1798-1870) with whom he had three daughters and a son. In February 1820 the Duke was murdered outside the opera house in Paris.