FRENCH school of the first half of the 19th... - Lot 81 - Daguerre

FRENCH school of the first half of the 19th century, entourage of Martin Drölling Portrait of King Louis XVI wearing the Order of Saint Louis, the Holy Spirit and the Order of the Golden Fleece Original oval canvas. Frame: In wood and gilded stucco French work of the restoration period, the spandrels with fleur-de-lis 73 x 58,5 cm Provenance: Sale of the contents of the Château de Montmort, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, June 18, 2014, lot 33. Antique label on the back of the frame: "Tient magasin /rue d'Angivilliers?/? A P? On the back, on the frame, an inscription in pencil: Jean de Montmort Louis Jean Remond de Montmort, second Marquis de Montmort (November 28, 1749 in Paris + 1793 in Pisa in emigration), knight of Saint-Louis (1781) was very well introduced at the Court. His son Auguste (1775-1848) was a supporter of the duchess of Berry. Cf. Patrick de Villepin, in Pierre Remond de Montmort, mathématicien du hasard, Paris, L'Armentier, 2019, p. 330-331. The castle of Montmort in Champagne was described by Victor Hugo: "It is an exquisite fortress of the sixteenth century, built of brick, with slate roofs and elaborate weathervanes, with its double enclosure, its double moat, its bridge of three arches leading to the drawbridge, its village at its feet, and all around its admirable landscape, seven places of horizon." in En Voyage. The Rhine, second letter, July 21, 1839. Our painting is inspired by the portrait painted by Drölling (Christie's Paris sale June 24, n°104), engraved by Sergent. This portrait is probably inspired by the pastel by Boze (private collection; Gérard Fabre, Joseph Boze portraitist from the Ancien Régime to the Restoration, N° 18 p.73), Marguerite Jallet already noted in 1934 (BSHAF, 1st fascicule p.158, Un portrait de Louis XVI par Martin Drolling): "It is probable that not having obtained a sitting of the king not having obtained a sitting of the king, like many artists, Martin DRöLLING, eager to execute a portrait of the to execute a portrait of the monarch, was inspired by the pastel very in vogue at that time".