A Hundred portraits, one mysterious collector

From 6th November last until 1st March, the Musée Lambinet is host to a small, but well-presented exhibition, "A Hundred Portraits for a Century: from the Court to the Town in the reigns of Louis XV and Louis XVI".  The curator is Xavier Salmon, Director of Graphic Arts at the Louvre. The portraits on show are from a private collection. The emphasis is on images of royalty, courtiers and celebrities and there are copies of familiar paintings; but less well-known sitters and  artists are also represented. The exhibition is attractively set out over eight  rooms of the museum, with design and signage by Jérôme Dumoux of MyArtDesign. There is also a beautifully illustrated published catalogue. The critical response has been generally positive.

The question remains, however: where exactly do these pictures come from?

The Press Release tells us that they belong to  organisation called the "Conservatoire du Portrait du Dix-Huitième Siècle" (CPDHS):

The mission of the Conservatoire du Portrait du Dix-Huitième Siècle (CPDHS), (which was founded twenty years ago) is to document as comprehensibly as possible the European society of the Enlightenment, its portraits and portrait artists.....Extensive dossiers have been created, indexed by both artist and subject....At the heart of each dossier are reproductions of portraits which have been sold at auction in the last twenty-five years...Sitters rather than artists are the primary focus:  the main mission is to identify faces; on numerous occasions the patient collation of information has allowed anonymous models to be identified.  Rarely a private initiative of this sort been able to call upon so many images and references for a given era...

Its continuing mission has informed the Conservatoire's collecting policy  since 1983.   The portraits reflect the diversity of 18th century society.  Although priority has been given to the royal family, members of the Court and Parisian high society the bourgeois of both the capital and the provinces  are also represented.  Certain works have also been acquired because they are by interesting lesser artists, eg. Josef Johann Melchior Wyrsch (1732-1798) who worked in Franchecomte and  Simon Pinson (f. 1758-1787), collaborator of Alexandre Roslin.

Space given over to a private collection in a French public museums is not in itself novel.  Xavier Salmon cites several recent precedents including the upcoming Masterpieces from the Prat Collection at the Petit-Palais. The exhibition is also in line with the rebranding of the Lambinet under Emilie Maisonneuve as a "maison de collectionneurs".  The problem is mainly that the collector in question has chosen to remain entirely anonymous.

Given the scope of the research, it seems really surprising that nothing at all has ever been published about the Conservatoire and its documentary resources.  Elsewhere we learn that there are as many as four hundred portraits in the total collection. 


In November 2017 members of the "Connaissances de Versailles" forum, alerted by  a portrait in Visiteurs à Versailles exhibition, uncovered a few more details. Conservatoire du Portrait du Dix-Huitième Siècle was registered as a trade name in Paris in 2001 by a certain Jean-Jacques Petit; though there seemed to be no commercial entity associated with it. Petit himself is obviously keen to remain anonymous and has almost no internet presence. He is occasionally mentioned in catalogues and auction notes, so we know he  is a real person, but it is too common a  name to trace easily (Personally my money is on the J-J.P. who is president of the Edmond Petit design company)

["Lors de l'exposition Visiteurs à Versailles, est apparu le nom d'une entité qui m'est inconnue et absente d’internet : Le CONSERVATOIRE DU PORTRAIT DIX-HUITIEME SIECLE (sigle : C.P.D.H.S.) localisé à Paris.  Marque commerciale déposée en 2001 par un dénommé Jean Jacques Petit."]
http://www.connaissancesdeversailles.org/t8083-le-conservatoire-du-portrait-du-dix-huitieme-siecle

There has been no comment at all from the art world about the circumstances of the present exhibition until mid-December when an article appeared in the Gazette Drouot. The author, Vincent Noce was sharply critical of quality of the portraits and went so far as to accuse Xavier Salmon, of deliberately crediting dubious works: "We prefer to allow the reader to judge the aesthetic quality of this collection of second or third-hand copies, sold at low prices as anonymous, and now graced with the privilege of attribution..."

Salmon, it would appear, had manifestly failed to consult the expert literature. A particularly damning example concerned Élisabeth Vigée Le Brun's portrait of her brother which appears on the exhibition poster;  in the catalogue of the 2015 EVB retrospective, which Salmon himself curated with Joseph Baillio, this work had been relegated to a copy" whose autograph character is at least doubtful".

Noce insinuated that Salmon had distorted his scholarship to oblige Petit, a private collector whom he knew personally:

Salmon cites the precedent of Guy Cogeval at the Musée d'Orsay, to argue that museums should open their doors to private collectors: Whether they are ultimately resold or donated to public galleries, private collections "live their lives".  However, the collection on view at Versailles is curiously anonymous.  It belongs in fact to certain Jean-Jacques Petit, with whom Xavier Salmon "has shared thirty years of acquaintance and friendship" He admits that he himself sollicited permission for the exhibition from his hierarchy. 

The article ends by reiterating the need for professional caution from curatorial staff dealing with private collections, especially  "in an era when high prices and rarity of artworks encourages  over-optimistic assessments" 


Unsurprisingly Salmon was quick to reply.  He pointed out the historical interest of the collection and defended his scholarly conclusions: 

As explained in the catalogue, the pictures in the current exhibition have been amassed over three decades by an amateur who wishes to illustrate French society in the 18th century in all its diversity.  His intention has not been to acquire works by grand masters, but to exemplify the practice of portraiture...  Although Louis-Michel Van Loo, Liotard, Duplessis ou Vigée Le Brun are represented, there are also numerous lesser artists: Adélaïde Hubert, Anne-Baptiste Nivelon, Chevalier Delorge, Frey, Schmidt, Wyrsch, Millot, Lassave, Vallière, Borgnis.  The catalogue offers an opportunity to present newly gathered information about these painters' careers and clientele. The exhibition shows that there was a demand from sitters for portraits at different prices supporting a wide spectrum of artistic talent.

As to attribution: the paintings on display include twenty-five signed works and forty-nine where the identity of the artist is confirmed by documentary evidence, style or comparison with autographed examples.  Fourteen are tentative attributions, eight studio works and four entirely anonymous.  All the available evidence is set out in the catalogue; in the case of the portrait of EVB's brother,  the quality of the face and the presence of repentirs count against it being a simple copy.

Salmon does not think he can be reproached for knowing the collector personally.  During thirty years of working with portraits, he has benefited from his expertise.  Several private collectors -  Prat, Motais de Narbonne, Milgrom, Jeffrey Horvitz - have recently been showcased  in public museums.  Besides, the current collector is seeking a long term repository and might even be considering  a bequest.

Vincent Noce, "Et donc..." [Article and Xavier Salmon's reply]  Gazette Drouot, 12.12.2019 
https://www.gazette-drouot.com/article/%25C2%25AB%25E2%2580%2589et-donc%25E2%2580%25A6%25E2%2580%2589%25C2%25BB/12056



On the whole, I think, Salmon gets the better of the argument.  Without this initiative, no-one would get to see this collection at all.  The Lambinet seems a suitable venue.  Besides, who can complain about an expo which is included with the museum admission price - a very modest 6 euros.


References for the Exhibition



Exhibition press dossier and List of works
https://www.versailles.fr/fileadmin/user_upload/Versailles-fr/Culture/Etablissements_culturels/Mus%C3%A9e_Lambinet/Expositions/DP_ExpositionCentPortraits_MuseeLambinet.pdf

Scenography by MyArtDesign.fr.
http://www.myartdesign.fr/images/JeromeDUMOUX_scenographe.pdf



Photos:
Corinne Martin-Rozès« Cent portraits pour un siècle » au Musée Lambinet, Versailles in my pocket, 6.11.2019.
http://www.versaillesinmypocket.com/2019/11/cent-portraits-pour-un-siecle-au-musee-lambinet.html

Alain.R.Truong > Art du XVIIIème siècle / 18th century art > 'Cent portraits pour un siècle' au Musée Lambinet, 6.11.2019
p://www.alaintruong.com/archives/2019/11/06/37767700.html

 Cent portraits pour un siècle. Exposition au Musée Lambinet (Versailles) on Marie-Antoinette-Forum.
http://marie-antoinette.forumactif.org/t4696-cent-portraits-pour-un-siecle-exposition-au-musee-lambinet-versailles

More Royal memorabilia under the hammer

OSENAT, "Royauté à Versailles", Saturday 23rd November 2019, Versailles, Hôtel des ventes du Château
CATALOGUE and BROCHURE
https://www.osenat.com/catalogue/100226?

Dominique Bonnet, "Un os et une mèche de cheveux de Louis XVI en vente à Versailles", Paris Match, 21.11.2019
https://www.parismatch.com/Royal-Blog/royaute-francaise/Un-petit-os-et-une-meche-de-cheveux-de-Louis-XVI-en-vente-a-Versailles-1660274


Here is yet another auction of royal/18th-century memorabilia, which takes place today (23rd November) at the new Versailles premises of the auction house Osenat. 

Marie-Antoinette's jewellery

A forthcoming auction of Royal jewels

This November sees the sale by Sotheby's in Geneva of the fabulous  Bourbon-Parma collection of royal jewellery, which is set to fetch a cool $5 million. Among the treasures are several pieces which belonged to Marie-Antoinette. The most spectacular is an enormous pearl (26 mm x 18m) on a diamont pendant, estimated to be worth $1-2 million.  There is also a necklace with more than 300 natural pearls ($200,000-$300,0000) and a pair of pearl drop earrings  ($30,000-$50,000). A diamond parure made for Louise of France, grand-daughter of Charles X, contains five gems which also once belonged to Marie-Antoinette.

The Manuscript of Cléry's Journal is auctioned

On 19th October this year, the manuscript was auctioned of Cléry's famous journal of the last days of the French royal family. It was one of over 600 lots in the collection of Lucian and André Tissot-Dupont (of the pens and lighters) sold  by Piasa in Paris. The manuscript represents Cléry's personal copy which served as the basis for the first printed edition of 1798.  It comprises 144 pages bound into six booklets and is a fair copy in the hand of a secretary, but with numerous autograph additions and corrections.   Cléry's family, who owned the manuscript until 1898, considered  that it may in fact have been entirely transcribed by Cléry himself. (According to P. Le Verdier, the original was a "manuscrit brouillon" consisting only of fragmentary notes).

The manuscript has several interesting annotations. There is a long note, dated November 1797,from the imperial censor who refused permission for the journal to be published in Vienna. Following this setback, Cléry journeyed to Blankembourg where on 21st January 1798 he presented the work to a visibly moved comte de Provence. Written on the title page in the future Louis XVIII's own hand, is the verse from the Aeneid which was later printed in the published work:

Animus meminisse horret - my spirit trembles with horror at the memory.

The sale also included the original copy of the first edition sent to Louis XVIII by Cléry, with his handwritten dedication.

The manuscript sold for €54,000 against an estimate of €30,000-€50,000 . The autographed book made €24,000.

Henri-Pierre Danloux, Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Cléry (1759-1809), valet de chambre of  Louis XVI
This drawing of 1798 was auctioned in Christie's sale of the Rothschild Collection Marie-Antoinette in November 2015.

Michèle Lorin, collector extraordinary!

Michèle Lorin : la passion de Marie-Antoinette (francetvinfo.fr)

Louis XVI's cravat

Here is yet another item of royal clothing ...a scarf (foulard) worn by Louis XVI during his imprisonment in the Temple, auctioned on the anniversary of his death, 21st January, in 2004. The sale was handled by the Touraine auction house of Philippe Rouillac and took place in the relatively modest venue of the salle d'honneur of the town hall in Loche.  Interest was keen and rival telephone bids escalated the final sale price to a massive 70,000 €!  (The reserve was a mere 5,000 €)  The lucky buyers are said to have been an American family of French descent who made their purchase in order to draw attention to the part played by Louis XVI in bringing about American independence.  They wished to remain anonymous and  have done so pretty successfully - I certainly haven't managed to find any clues.

More relics of the Temple - Collection Beauchesne

I'm more of a robespierriste myself but relics of the royal family in their final days have a strange fascination.  Yet more memorabilia went under the hammer in March this year, when Drouot auctioned the collection of the Vicomte Alcide-Hyacinthe du Bois de Beauchesne (1804-1873), Gentleman of the Court of Louis XVIII, and author of the first systematic investigation into the fate of Louis XVII [Louis XVII, sa vie son agonie et sa mort: captivité de la famille royale au Temple, 1853].  An important part of the collection relating to  the royal family was bequeathed  by the widow of  Jean-Baptiste Gomin (1757-1841) who had been assistant to Laurent as guard of the children of France at the Temple between 8th November 1794 and 29th March 1795, and subsequently accompanied Madame Royal to Huningue in Basel in December 1795 to be handed over to the Austrians.

More expensive shoes - Sale of 16th/17th October 2012

Later in 2012, following the sale of the mules in the Paul Rousseau collection, this pair of Marie-Antoinette's shoes were offered at auction. They fetched a even more impressive 50,000 €  (though, as Time pointed out, this was some way short of the record for an item of clothing, which belongs to Marilyn Monroe's "Happy birthday Mr. President" dress which sold for $1,267,500 in 1999!) The buyer was undisclosed.  Perhaps there is a Russian tycoon out there with a lot of old (and very expensive) shoes!

Lot 20: A pair of green and pink silk slippers which belonged to Marie-Antoinette.

The shoes were given in 1775 by Marie Antoinette to Alexandre-Bernard Ju-des-Rets (1752-1837), an officer in her service at Versailles and were put on sale by one of his descendants.  They are similar in construction to the Toulon mules with wooden heels covered in white leather, but they are in even better condition. 

More royal memorabilia - the Collection Paul Rousseau

Here is another noteworthy auction - the sale of the collection of Paul Rousseau which took place in Toulon in March 2012.  It is hard to find out much about Paul Rousseau; presumably this is NOT the sports journalist by that name who died in the same year, 1941.  According to the auction notes he had notable contacts with collectors, men of letters and historians of the first half of the 20th century, notably Louis-Leon-Theodore Gosselin (1855), G Lenotre. It was Lenotre who contributed the most significant items to the collection, notably a pair of mules belonging to Marie-Antoinette (no.68), a writing exercise from the Dauphin Louis-Joseph (no.56) and a piece of material from the furnishings of the Temple (no.71). Other items originated from the collection of Bernard Franck (1848-1924).  On his death, Rousseau entrusted his collection to the Bordeaux lawyer Robert Dobin (1907-1997) whose family preserved it intact until 2012.

The two shirts of Louis XVI.....

Being executed is a little hard on the linen....

As previously posted, one of the items in the Collection Bancel sale of 2003 was the shirt/ nightshirt Louis XVI changed out of on the morning of his execution on 21st January 1793.

The evidence of provenance is straightforward. The shirt is accompanied by  a manuscript note,  "Chemise left by the King Louis XVI at the Temple 21st January 1793". The shirt remained in the family of Louis's valet de chambre Cléry until 1882 when the husband of Cléry's great-granddaughter sold it to M.Philippe Gille.  There are records for its sale in Rouen in 1896 and by Drouot in Pescheteau on 20 March 1965 (Lot no.43)
http://www.piasa.auction.fr/FR/vente_peintures_arts_graphiques/v5371_piasa/l576404_chemise_qui_aurait_ete_quittee_par_louis_xvi_le_matin_du_21_janvier_1793.html

Memories from the Temple - Collection Alain Bancel

Alain Bancel was a collector with an obsessive interest in the French Revolution's saddest victim, the little Dauphin Louis-Charles, posthumously recognised as Louis XVII. Over thirty years, he managed to amass in his modest apartment in northern Paris a collection to rival that of the Carnavalet. 

Unhappily on M. Bancel's death in 2003 his collection was "victime du fisc" and had to be dispersed. It became one of the auctions of the season. There were 470 lots,with an estimate of 450,000 € and the sale eventually realised 760,000 €. 

Some of these rare pictures and objects have now found their way into public collections.  But how extraordinary to see photos of them jumbled together in true 18th-century style in M. Bancel's home!. (Photos from the website Musée Louis xvii.)

Marie-Antoinette at the Château du Cambon

Here is another nice place for the holiday itinerary!  The Château du Cambon in the Auvergne, beautiful in itself, is venue for18th-century themed concerts and events, amd home to an obsessively accumulated collection of works of art and memorabilia relating to Marie-Antoinette.