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JACQUES-GERMAIN SOUFFLOT | A design for the Loge du Change, Lyon
Estimate
8,000 - 12,000 USD
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Description
- Jacques-Germain Soufflot
- A design for the Loge du Change, Lyon
- Pen and black and gray ink and gray wash over black chalk, within partial black ink framing lines, indented and reddened on the reverse for transfer;illegibly inscribed in reddish-brown ink, lower left and right and bears numbering in brown ink, verso: No 15 / 2
- 265 by 384 mm; 10 3/8 by 15 1/8 in
Provenance
Vente Soufflot, Paris, 1780 (as Vue de la Bourse de Lyon);
possibly Hector-Martin Lefuel (1810-1880), Paris, according to an old label, previously attached to the mount;
sale, Paris, Millon & Associés, 26 June 2008, lot 118
possibly Hector-Martin Lefuel (1810-1880), Paris, according to an old label, previously attached to the mount;
sale, Paris, Millon & Associés, 26 June 2008, lot 118
Exhibited
The drawing and print:
Moscow, The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, The Golden Age of Architectural Graphic Art Drawings by European Masters of the 18th-19th Centuries from the Sergei Tchoban Collection, 2010, no. 2
Moscow, The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, The Golden Age of Architectural Graphic Art Drawings by European Masters of the 18th-19th Centuries from the Sergei Tchoban Collection, 2010, no. 2
Literature
C.-A. Jombert, Catalogue de L'Oeuvre de Ch. Nic. Cochin, Fils, Paris 1770, p. 80, no. 206
Condition
Hinged to the mount at the upper margin. There are light yellow/brown stains throughout the sheet, more noticeable in the upper section in the sky. There are some small areas where the sheet is rubbed/abraded, evident when looking through the second arch on the building. Overall the pen and ink and chalk remain strong and vibrant. Sold framed.
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.
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
Having learned that the City of Lyon was undertaking the reconstruction of several civic buildings, Jacques-Germain Soufflot, who previously studied in Rome from 1728 to 1731, submitted his designs for a number of these projects, including the Loge du Change. His sympathetic incorporation of some of the existing elements of the building, as well as his understanding and ability to work within the inherent constraints of a civic, rather than private project, set him in good stead for the commission. The adaptations to the Loge du Change were begun in 1747 and completed by 1750, with Soufflot, thanks in part to his involvement in the project, being elected to the Royal Academy of Architecture in 1749.
Though Allan Braham was unaware of the survival of this drawing in 1980,1 its subsequent reemergence on the Parisian art market in 2008 (see Provenance) has provided a fascinating opportunity to further study Soufflot's working practices as a draughtsman, at this relatively early stage in his career. Perhaps the most intriguing question raised by this drawing is found in one of the accompanying inscriptions, on an old tab of paper, previously attached to the old mount, which describes "Ce dessin original de Soufflot et dont les personnages sont de la main de .....".
It was suggested in 2010 (see Exhibited) that the artist responsible for the figures in our drawing may have been Soufflot's friend and travel companion, Charles-Nicolas Cochin, a theory previously discussed by Pérouse de Montclos in 2004 and supported by Jombert's 1770 Catalogue de l'oeuvre de Ch. Nic. Cochin fils, which describes the figures in this drawing as having been "dessinées & gravées par Cochin fils".2
Though Soufflot and Cochin traveled together to Italy with the Abbé Le Blanc in 1750, accompanying the Marquis de Marigny on a Gallic interpretation of a British Grand Tour, little is known of their combined working practices, making this drawing, which must predate their travels, a particularly interesting record in this respect.
The drawing was subsequently engraved by Charles Bellicard and Cochin3 in 1752 before a further impression, often reworked with watercolor, was published circa 1780, a copy of which is also offered as part of this lot.
1. A. Braham, The Architecture of the French Enlightenment, London 1980, p. 26
2. Jombert, op. cit., p. 80, no. 206
3. See J.-M. Pérouse de Montclos, Jacques-Germain Soufflot, Paris 2004, pp. 58, 62-63 and 115, reproduced
Though Allan Braham was unaware of the survival of this drawing in 1980,1 its subsequent reemergence on the Parisian art market in 2008 (see Provenance) has provided a fascinating opportunity to further study Soufflot's working practices as a draughtsman, at this relatively early stage in his career. Perhaps the most intriguing question raised by this drawing is found in one of the accompanying inscriptions, on an old tab of paper, previously attached to the old mount, which describes "Ce dessin original de Soufflot et dont les personnages sont de la main de .....".
It was suggested in 2010 (see Exhibited) that the artist responsible for the figures in our drawing may have been Soufflot's friend and travel companion, Charles-Nicolas Cochin, a theory previously discussed by Pérouse de Montclos in 2004 and supported by Jombert's 1770 Catalogue de l'oeuvre de Ch. Nic. Cochin fils, which describes the figures in this drawing as having been "dessinées & gravées par Cochin fils".2
Though Soufflot and Cochin traveled together to Italy with the Abbé Le Blanc in 1750, accompanying the Marquis de Marigny on a Gallic interpretation of a British Grand Tour, little is known of their combined working practices, making this drawing, which must predate their travels, a particularly interesting record in this respect.
The drawing was subsequently engraved by Charles Bellicard and Cochin3 in 1752 before a further impression, often reworked with watercolor, was published circa 1780, a copy of which is also offered as part of this lot.
1. A. Braham, The Architecture of the French Enlightenment, London 1980, p. 26
2. Jombert, op. cit., p. 80, no. 206
3. See J.-M. Pérouse de Montclos, Jacques-Germain Soufflot, Paris 2004, pp. 58, 62-63 and 115, reproduced