Claude-Louis Desrais

Comte Jacques de la Béraudière,
his sale, Paris, 16-17 April 1883;
Founès;
Penard y Fernandez;
sale, London, Sotheby's, 8 December 1972, lot 11, reproduced;
with Bernard Houthakker, Amsterdam, from whom acquired, on 27 May 1975, by H.W. de Groot

Paris, Musée Carnavalet, La Vie Parisienne au XVIII Siècle, 1928, no. 169;
Paris, Musée Carnavalet, La Revolution Française, 1939, no. 1330;
Grasse, Musée Fragonard, Femmes, 1962, no. 11

A. Ananoff, "Les Cent 'petits-maîtres' qu'il faut connaître", Connaissance des arts, June 1964, p. 69

Partially laid down in the center of the sheet. Overall in good condition. Some slight foxing and some surface dirt. A tiny nick in the sheet lower right. The medium remains fresh. Sold in a decorative frame.
"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."

Claude-Louis Desrais was one of the most prolific designers of book illustrations in late 18th century France.  Here, he depicts a group of French aristocrats experimenting with fashionable new pseudoscientific theories and observations, in this case a healing 'baquet' staged by the German physician, Franz Anton Mesmer (1734-1815).  Mesmer theorized that there was a natural energetic transference that took place between all animate and inanimate objects which he called magnétisme animal, animal magnetism, the healing powers of which he extolled in his book, Mémoire sur la Découverte du Magnétisme Animal.  He had great success but naturally was not without his critics.  This drawing is an accurate illustration of the description of one of Mesmer's 'baquets' given by a contemporary English physician: 'In the middle of the room is placed a vessel of about a foot and a half high which is called here a "baquet".  It is so large that twenty people can easily sit round it; near the edge of the lid which covers it, there are holes pierced corresponding to the number of persons who are to surround it; into these holes are introduced iron rods, bent at right angles outwards, and of different heights, so as to answer to the part of the body to which they are to be applied. Besides these rods, there is a rope which communicates between the baquet and one of the patients, and from him is carried to another, and so on the whole round. The most sensible effects are produced on the approach of Mesmer, who is said to convey the fluid by certain motions of his hands or eyes, without touching the person. I have talked with several who have witnessed these effects, who have convulsions occasioned and removed by a movement of the hand...'  Perhaps Mesmer is the figure standing to the right. 

According to the Oxford English Dictionary, it is from his name that the word 'mesmerize' is derived.