Charles-François Grenier de Lacroix, called Lacroix de Marseille

Estimate

100,000 - 150,000 USD

bidding is closed

Description

Charles-François Grenier de Lacroix, called Lacroix de Marseille
A Mediterranean port with turbaned figures beneath a Roman arch, a man-o'-war at anchor beyond; A Mediterranean port with fishermen by the shore and hauling nets
the first signed and dated lower left on the barrel: G./De La/Croix/X/1759; the second signed and dated lower left on the rock: De La Croix/Rom 1759
a pair, both oil on canvas
Each: 13 1/4 by 17 1/4 in.
Each: 35 x 44 cm.

Provenance

Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 8 December 2005, lot 349 (only Mediterranean port with turbaned figures);
With Colnaghi, London.

Condition

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. Both of these pictures are in good condition. The canvases have old linings. The paint layers are cleaned. The composition with the tree on the right shows numerous tiny dots of retouching in the lighter colors under ultraviolet light. The picture is otherwise in good state. The other composition has considerably less retouching and is in very good condition.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Catalogue Note

This pair of seascapes was painted by Lacroix in 1759 during his sojourn in Rome, where he is documented from 1750. Details of his formative years are unknown, though he is thought to have been a pupil of Claude-Joseph Vernet whose style he followed closely. The two artists were certainly in contact in Rome in 1751 as Lacroix executed precise copies of four works by Vernet, all of which are now at Uppark, Sussex.¹ After Vernet returned to France, Lacroix remained in Italy where he developed as an independent and successful artist. He is documented back in Paris by 1776 when he exhibited at the Salon du Colisée.

This pair appears to have been reunited at some point after the 2005 London auction (see Provenance) in which only one was included in the sale. A very similar pair, larger in size and later in date, with many of the same elements such as the Roman arch, diagonal tree and mountainous backgrounds, was sold in these Rooms on 24 January 2008, lot 95.²

1. Uppark House & Garden, West Sussex (accession numbers 138297.1-4), along with Vernet's originals (accession numbers 138296.1-4). See Oil Paintings in National Trust Properties, London 2013, vol. V, pp. 372-374.
2. One dated 1774, the other dated 1775; both oil on canvas, 104.7 by 145.4 cm.