Lot 749
  • 749

Cesare Auguste Detti

Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • Cesare Auguste Detti
  • Venetian Court, Minstrel Scene
  • signed C. Detti, dated 1881, and inscribed Paris (lower left)
  • oil on panel
  • 23 by 29 in.; 58.4 by 73.7 cm.

Provenance

Mr. and Mrs. Obed J. Wilson, Cincinnati, Ohio;
Acquired by donation from the above, 1908.

Condition

On a stable cradled panel. The is in good condition overall. Inspection under UV rveals inpainting between legs of the two leftmost musicians and around right most boy in the audience.
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.

Catalogue Note

A world apart from the Greco-Roman, mythological, or peasant life scenes so popular in the late nineteenth century, Cesare Auguste Detti’s compositions satisfied his patrons’ nostalgia for courtly genre.  In the present work, the artist portrays a gathering of members of a royal court or wealthy nobility; each figure wears elaborately detailed costumes in many pastel and jeweled hues which perfectly complement the lush vegetation and blooming flowers of the garden.  Despite the musical entertainment provided by traveling musicians here, few audience members focus on the performance, instead shifting distracted glances; the singing boy’s hat will likely remain empty.  Though suggesting a subtle narrative, overall Detti delights in detailing the pleasures of living well, based factually on the court culture of the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries. Detti closely studied the history of the great courts of Europe, and owned an extensive array of period costumes and objets d’art (there remain several photographs of the artist dressed as a cavalier, and his collections of period armor, statuary, and tableware were carefully inventoried).  Indeed, the present work may depict members of a Venetian court, as suggested by the stone lion on the stairway, or another noble European family as, rather than a winged creature, the regal beast wears a crown.