L12040

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Lot 72
  • 72

Gilles Marie Oppenort

Estimate
6,000 - 8,000 GBP
bidding is closed

Description

  • Gilles Marie Oppenort
  • two designs for frontispieces with classical themes

  • Both pen and black ink and grey wash;
    one indistinctly inscribed in pen and brown ink in the cartouche: ... allégorique / Dédiée à Mr.../ avec Privilège du Roy / G. M. Oppenort inve. & deline. and bears number in pen and brown ink top right corner: 17

Provenance

Both A. Stoll, mountmaker (L.2786c)

Exhibited

Baltimore, Museum of Art, Old Master Drawings, 1500-1800, 1978-9, no. 39

Condition

One without inscription: laid down; small loss of ink in bottom right corner; ink inscripiton in cartouche appears to have been washed away. Overall condition good and ink fresh. Hinged to modern mount at top corners. Other: has been laid down but old backing scraped away, hinged at the top corners to the modern mount; some wear at bottom left edge and top left corner; inscription has been washed out; overall condition good and ink strong. Sold in gilded 18th century style frames.
"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

These designs are closely related in style, composition and size to a group that Oppenort produced around 1730.  These include eight from the Hippolyte Destailleur collection, now in the Kunstbibliotek, Berlin;1 one last recorded in the Bérard collection sale;2 and one in the Cooper-Hewitt Museum, New York.3  The putti in our drawing are close to two in the Cooper-Hewitt sheet, and the other is a close variant of one of the Berlin group.4

Gilles Marie Oppenort trained as an architect under Jules Hardouin Mansart, before travelling to Rome in 1692.  He was profoundly influenced by the work of Borromini and other Italian artists.  On his return to Paris, he worked as an architect and also as a book illustrator.  In 1715 he was appointed architect to the Duc d'Orléans, the Regent, and became a leading formulator of the Rococo style in Paris.  A large collection of his designs was published by Huquier, which served to disseminate his influence even further.

1.  E. Berckenhagen, Die französischen Zeichnungen der Kunstbibliothek, Berlin, Berlin 1970, p. 174-175, nos. Hdz 3131-3138
2.  Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 21-25 February 1891, lot 299
3.  Inv. no. 1911-28-172, see R. P. Wunder, Extravagant Drawings of the Eighteenth Century from the Collection of the Cooper Union Museum, New York 1962, reproduced pl. 29; pp. 97-98, no. 29 (as J.A. Meissonier)
4.  Berckenhagen, op. cit., p. 175,  Hdz 3132, reproduced