Gabriel de Saint-Aubin

Baron Jérôme Pichon, sa vente, Paris, Danlos, 17-21 mai 1897, n°116 (fr. 145) ;
Vente anonyme, Paris, 23 février 1903, lot n°112 (fr. 100) ;
Collection Georges Teyssier en 1925

E. Dacier, Gabriel de Saint-Aubin, Paris et Bruxelles, 1931, tome II, p. 210, n. 1078

EXPOSITION(S):
Exposition des Saint Aubin, Paris, Hôtel de M. Jean Charpentier, 7-29 avril 1925, no. 64

Not seen out of its frame. Laid down. Overall good condition and fresh. Some very slight staining at the top corner to the left and at the bottom left of the margin. Some slight soiling. Sold in a Louis XV carved and gilded wooden frame.
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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."

Cette feuille de divers études proviendrait probablement d'un carnet de dessins. Il s'agit d'un superbe exemple de l’incroyable habileté et fantaisie dans l’assemblage d’images disparates de Saint-Aubin. Dans ce feuillet, nous retrouvons des sculptures d’après l’antique, et deux tableaux, un Saint Jérôme et un médaillon avec une figure féminine. L’artiste crée un riche et improbable mur, où un jeune déssinateur (probablement M. de la Bruère d’après l’inscription de l’artiste près du personnage) est en train de copier quelque chose devant lui. Ainsi que dans d’autres feuillets similaires, il est difficile d’expliquer les raisons du choix de l’artiste et les deux dates dans le feuillet pourraient suggérer le fait que la composition ait pu évoluer avec le temps.

This sheet of composite studies most probably originated from an album.  It is a delightful example of Saint-Aubin's incredible ability and fantasy in assembling disparate images, in this sheet primarily sculptures after the Antique, and two paintings, a St. Jerome and a medallion with a female figure. The artist creates a rich but improbable wall in an interior, where a young draftsman to the lower left (possibly Mr. de la Bruère, as inscribed by the artist nearby) is absorbed in copying something just in front of him.  As in other similar sheets, it is difficult to explain the reasons behind the artist's choice of objects, and the two different dates on the sheet may also suggest that the composition may perhaps have evolved over time.