Guillaume Guillon-Lethière

By descent in the family of the sitter, from whom bought by the present owner

The drawing is on a thick paper, framed by a brown ink line in the upper and lower parts, attached by the four margins to a modern mount. There are some tiny black spots to the verso that surface in the recto, but these have been carefully masked by tiny touches of white gouache. Overall good condition. Fresh and vibrant medium. Sold unframed.
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.

Guillaume Guillon-Lethière was a pupil of Doyen.  He won the Second Grand Prix in 1784, and exhibited at the Salon from 1793 until his death.  In 1801 he travelled in Spain with Lucien Bonaparte whom he advised on collecting works by Spanish old masters.  Thanks to that association, Guillon-Lethière was made director of the French Academy in Rome in 1807.  He held the post for ten years, while continuing to execute commissions for his patron, such as his masterpiece, Brutus, which was displayed at the Salon of 1811 and is now in the Louvre.¹  He received other notable accolades, being made a professor at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1819 and a member of the Institut de France in 1825.

Paul-Joseph Notré (1803 - ? after 1835), was a military painter.  Very little is known of his life, but he is recorded at the Ecole des Beaux-Arts in 1820 and was a pupil of Guillon-Lethière and Girodet and later of Horace Vernet.  

This portrait is a touching record of the friendship between the master and his pupil who here is portrayed probably as he sat in his teacher's studio, preparing to draw from a model.  A portrait by Guillon-Lethière of his son Alexandre, similar in pose and facial expression, and in the same media, is still in the collection of the artist's descendants.

For a portrait by Ingres of another friend and colleague of Guillon-Lethière's at the French Academy in Rome, see lot 267.

1.  Inv. 6228; E. Lessing and V. Pomarède, The Louvre, All the Paintings, New York 2011, p. 621, fig. 8