PHILIPPE JACQUES DE LOUTHERBOURG, R.A. | A calm: a harbour scene, with fishermen resting near ruins

Count Gustav Philip Creutz, Swedish Minister in Paris, by whom lent to the Paris Salon in 1767, and thus presumably acquired from the artist earlier that same year;
Sold or given to Gustaf Adolf Sparre when he visited Count Creutz in Paris in 1780, or following Creutz's return to Sweden in 1783;
Sparre inv. 1794, no. 53;
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 6 December 2007, lot 113 where acquired by the present owner.

Paris, Salon, 1767, part of no. 124 ('Un Calme').

Explications des Peintures, Sculptures et Gravures... (Catalogue of the Salon), Paris 1767, p. 26, under no. 124 (reprinted New York & London 1977);
G. Göthe, Tafvelsamlingen på Wanås, Stockholm 1895, p. 29, cat. no. 74 (as in the style of Claude-Joseph Vernet);
J. Seznec and J. Adhémar, Diderot Salons, vol. III, 1767, Oxford 1963, p. 35;
I. Hasselgren, Konstsamlaren Gustaf Adolf Sparre, 1746-1794. Hans studieresa, vaaning och konstsamling i Goeteborg, Goeteborg 1974, pp. 118, 121 and 127, reproduced p. 192;
P. Sanchez, Dictionnaire des Artistes exposant dans les Salons à Paris et en Provence, Dijon 2004, vol. II, p. 1109.

The original canvas is unlined with a small patch on the reverse, supporting an area of loss, lower right, measuring 2 x 2 cm. (not visible in the catalogue illustration). The paint surface is clean and the varnish is slightly discoloured. There are a handful of very small spot retouchings along the upper margin, visible to the naked eye, and there are some obvious pale shrinkage cracks to the darker passages, particularly on the right-hand side. Inspection under ultraviolet light reveals extremely few, very small retouchings along some of the cracks, upper and lower right, but no further intervention. In overall original and untouched condition. Offered in a carved and gilt wood frame in good condition.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
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."

Probably because it is neither signed nor dated, prior to the 2007 sale (see Provenance), it has not previously been noticed that this picture is by De Loutherbourg, and certainly not that it is the work entitled Un Calme exhibited in the Salon of 1767 when in the Cabinet of Count Creutz, and thus the missing picture from the six De Loutherbourgs of the same dimensions exhibited as no. 124. It is therefore the pendant to the Shipwreck entitled Une Tempête in the National Museum, Stockholm.¹ 1 Inv. no. NM 849; see P. Grate, 'French Paintings II Eighteenth Century', in the Catalogue of the National Museum Stockholm, Stockholm 1994, pp. 195–96, cat. no. 175, reproduced.