Lot 72
  • 72

Claude-Joseph Vernet

Estimate
12,000 - 16,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • Claude-Joseph Vernet
  • Portrait of the artist Simon Mathurin Lantara (1729 - 1778)
  • inscribed on the reverse: croquis de Lantara/par Vernet
  • oil on panel

Provenance

With Silverstone Waddington;
By whom (anonymously) sold, 25 November 1981, lot 87, unsold (as Attributed to François Andre Vincent, A Young Man Gazing Upward);
With Galerie Franklin Silverstone;
By whom (anonymously) sold, New York, Sotheby's, 22 March 1984, lot 83 (as Attributed to François Andre Vincent, A Young Man Gazing Upward);
There purchased by Serge Michel;
Paul Zappert, New York, by 1986;
From whom acquired by Max Drechsler, New York;
By whom given to the present owners.

Literature

E. Bellier de la Chavignerie, Les Artistes français du XVIIIe siècle oubliés ou dédaignés, Paris 1865, p. 113;
H. Beraldi, "Bracquemond," in Les Graveurs du XIXe siècle, vol. III, Paris 1885, p. 36;
G. Levitine, "Les Origines du mythe de l'Artiste bohème en France: Lantara," in Gazette des Beaux-Arts, September 1975, pp. 57, 60, footnote 34;
E. Bénézit, Dictionnaire critique et documentaire des Peintres, Sculpteurs, Dessinateurs et Graveurs, Paris 1976, vol. 6, p. 438.

Condition

Panel is uncradled and bevelled on all four sides. the paint surface is very well retained with nice fresh impasto. under UV light, there is an on area of retouching under eye and down into cheek; also some reinforcement of the eyelid and pupil. one or two tiny dots of retouching in background. these have been well applied and painting can be hung as is. Offered in a gilt wood 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.
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

This informal and lively portrait sketch by Vernet of the artist Lantara is unique in his oeuvre.  An engraving after the painting was made by Félix Bracquemond in 1857 and published in L’Artiste in 1864.  At the time of Levitine’s article on Lantera in the Gazette des Beaux-Arts (see Literature), the whereabouts of Vernet’s original portrait was unknown and when it did reappear in a 1981 auction (see Provenance), it was misattributed as a work by Vincent.  Further research concerning the inscription on the reverse reestablished the correct identity of both the painter and sitter.  The late Vernet scholar, Philip Conisbee, saw this painting firsthand in 1990 and confirmed it to be a work by Vernet (a photocopy of his letter accompanies this lot).

Lantara was a landscape painter and draughtsman in Paris.  He was a friend of Vernet who, among other artists, is said to have added figures to his paintings.