Charles-Nicolas Cochin the Younger

Marquis Ph. de Chennevières (all but E bear his mark, L.2073),
his sale, Paris, P. Roblin, 4-7 April, 1900, possibly all in lot 85 (a group of 29 drawings of various subjects)

A: Brussels, Société Générale de Banque, Dessins du XVe au XVIIIe Siècle dans les collections privées de Belgique, 1983, cat. no. 88, illus.

A, B, C: Ph de Chennevières, 'Une collection de dessins d'artistes français', L'Artiste, October 1897, p. 273;

B and C: Brussels, Société Générale de Banque, Dessins du XVe au XVIII Siècle..., 1983, both illustrated p.196, under cat. no. 88;

A, B and C: Louis-Antoine Prat and Laurence Lhinares, La Collection Chennevières, Paris 2007, p. 545, cat. nos. 1297a (A), 1297b (C), 1297c (B), all illus.

D. Christian Michel, Charles-Nicolas Cochin et le Livre Illustré au XVIIIe Siècle, Geneva 1987, p. 322, no. 155ag

 

D- F each have borders of japan (?) paper. G has triangular cuts in the paper clearly made by the artist. All in good condition. A and B - did not take out of frame, but look to be in excellent condition C; Good condition, attached to mount with (?) japan paper - verso not visible
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.
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The three drawings of an obelisk with figures around it are clearly for the same project, perhaps a monument to the King and Queen whose portraits appear in the medallions in one of the sketches. Military and naval attributes are also discernible, which led Guy Grieten in the Brussels exhibition to suggest that they were for a monument in a port city. Christian Michel has suggested a dating between 1760 and 1780. Although Cochin had associations with sculptors and may have supplied drawings to them, there is no indication that this project was ever executed, nor can one be certain about the medium or scale which Cochin intended.

D. This is the drawing for the illustration to Canto XXXIII, Astolfo putting the harpies to flight, for a French edition of Ariosto's Orlando Furioso, published in Paris, 1775-1783 (see Lit. above)

E: This is the preparatory drawing, in reverse, for an illustration in an edition of Tasso's Gerusalemme Liberata published in 1784-86. [1]  The subject is Erminia being armed, from Canto vi, p. 192. The book was commissioned by the Comte de Provence, who took a lively interest in its design and production.¹

F. The design was used for the frontispiece to vol. II, a scene from the story of Psyche, in an edition of Fables et Oeuvres diverses de M. l'Abbé Aubert, published in Paris, 1774.²

G. The two small vignettes on this sheet are both designs for an edition of the Oeuvres de Monsieur de Saint Marc, published in Paris, 1781. They represent Comedy surrounded by Children, a heading for the play, La Bienfaisance, reproduced vol. III, p. 11; and an end-piece, reproduced vol. III, p. 300, of a child cutting a branch.³  Michel seems not to have known about the drawing on the verso which is quite similar in subjet to E.

1. See C. Michel, op.cit., p.361, no. 178m, reproduced fig. 162

2. See C. Michel, op. cit., p. 310, no. 151b

3. See C. Michel, op. cit., pp. 346-7, nos. 170b and c