Catalogue de Tableaux des Ecoles d’Italie, de Flandres, et de France. Dessins, Estampes, Terres-cuites, Marbres, Bronzes antiques & modernes, Ouvrages de Mosaïque, Surtout de Table en pierres précieuses, Porcelaines anciennes & modernes, Tabatiere ornée de Peintures de Petitot, Camées antiques, Boîtes de Malaquit & de Lapis, Vases & Table de Marbre rare, belles Girandoles, Pendule, Feux & bras de Bronze doré d’or mat & d’or moulu, Lustre de Cristal de Roche, Meubles, & différens autres Objets rares & précieux formant le Cabinet de…On en fera la vente le 16 Janvier 1786 & jours suivans…Par M. Le Brun, Garde des Tableaux de Mgr. Comte d’Artois.
106 pp. 8vo, attractive antique calf-backed paste-paper boards, spine gilt, red morocco lettering piece on spine. Paris: Le Brun, 1785.
The uncommon sale catalogue of the collection of a famous patron of the arts. Bailli de Breteuil (1725?-85), an influential diplomat who was ambassador to Malta, collected paintings, sculptures, curiosities, and objets d’art. He lived in Rome for about two decades and he owned a magnificent Roman villa decorated by Lavallée-Poussin. Upon returning to Paris in 1787, he frequented Grimod de La Reynière’s salon. Rumors abounded that Bailli was engaged in an affair with Madame Grimod.
The present catalogue fully describes 102 paintings, 42 drawings, 18 prints, and 240 lots of sculpture, precious minerals, porcelains, ceramics, snuffboxes, antiquities, and furniture. Bailli owned works by Del Piombo, Fragonard (No. 49 “The Stolen Kiss” resides in the Metropolitan Museum of Art), Velazquez, Dürer, Bourdon, Le Nain, Poussin, etc. Of particular note in this catalogue is a section devoted to table centerpieces (surtout de table), models of ancient monuments including the temples of Minerva, Mercury, two arcs de triomphe, four obelisks, 12 sphinxes, and finally 75 knives made from various materials. All are thoroughly described.
Nice copy. We locate only one copy in North America. As in most cases, lacks the 30-page supplement, which was printed the following year.
❧ Bailey, Patriotic Taste: Collecting Modern Art in Pre-Revolutionary Paris, p. 220. Cicognara 4511. Lugt 3974.
Price: $1,950.00
Item ID: 6177
