Louis Marcoussis

Private Collection, London (and sold: Sotheby's, London, December 4, 1996, lot 278)
Acquired at the above sale

Jean Lafranchis, Marcoussis, sa vie, son oeuvre. Catalogue complet des peintures, fixés sur verre, aquarelles, dessins, gravures, Paris, 1961, no. F.5, illustrated p. 284

The work is painted on glass, backed with a sheet of blue tinted paper. There are a few pindot areas of transfer in which the pigment has become affixed to the backing paper. This is clear in the blue background at the upper left and at one small spot at the top of sound hole at the center of composition. There is also one pin dot of transfer between the double-l in the word LULLI. There are a few pin dots of loss in the rose-colored pigments above the signature at lower left, as well as two small specs of loss in the dark blue pigment at the center of the lower right quadrant. The composition overall is very bright and fresh. Work is in very good condition.
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.

Café society in turn-of-the-century Paris was the crucible for debate amongst artists and writers. Long hours of heated exchanges between artists, at times aided by excesses of alcohol, ended in fisticuffs. Still, the trappings of the Parisian cafés provided ample subject matter to be captured by artists. In the present work, a panoply of objects populate a café tabletop providing the viewer with the accoutrements associated with smoke-filled Parisian cafés: a pipe, an Eau de Vie bottle, a candle burning low, a guitar.  A piece of sheet music is prominently titled with the name of the Baroque composer to Louis XIV, a libertine named Lulli, both a  splendid dancer and a virtuoso on the guitar (see fig. 1).  Perhaps the exploits of this lively court composer are being heralded in the rest of the assembled objects, chosen by Marcoussis to remind the viewer of musical evenings and good times past.

The composer Jean-Baptiste Lulli, 1632-1687, engraving