(AUCTION CATALOGUE: DUFRESNE, –, restorer & painter).

Catalogue d’une charmante Collection de Tableaux anciens et modernes, des Ecoles Flamande et Française; composant le Cabinet de…[Expert: B. T. Henry] et dont la vente se fera…les mardi 20 et mercredi 21 décembre 1814…

38 pp. 8vo (209 x 138 mm.), loosely stitched, disbound. Paris: Olivier & Henry, 1814.

The very scarce catalogue of a Parisian painting restorer’s intriguing collection of pictures. Dufresne, whose first name is unknown, resided on rue Taitbout and then on rue Saint-Lazare. This catalogue’s foreword mentions that he has worked as a tasteful and able restorer for the past 15 years.

The catalogue describes 124 lots of paintings, including work of Albani, van Asch, Boilly, Bidault, J. Brueghel, van Bloemen, Marguérite Gérard, Drolling, van Goyen, de La Hire, Lantara, Poelenburgh, Swagers, Taunay, D. Teniers, Zurbarán, etc. The subjects in many of the pictures are detailed at length, and each entry provides measurements and the type of support. Henry, the expert, even offers comparisons and critiques of the work in his descriptions.

A good copy of a rare catalogue. Some dampstaining to the margins, and the stitching is nearly gone.

❧ Lugt 8622. See N. Etienne, The Restoration of Paintings in Paris, 1750-1815 (2017), p. 285, for the entry on Dufresne.

Oxford Art online (Henry)–“He studied under Charles Landon and Jean-Baptiste Regnault. In 1793 he began to deal in pictures and until 1812 spent part of his time travelling abroad (mainly in Italy) to increase his knowledge of art. In October 1816 he was appointed Commissaire-expert des Musées Royaux, a post he held until his death. Between 1810 and 1830 he assembled an eclectic collection, purchasing either privately or at sales, among them the posthumous sales (1826 and 1827) of Vivant Denon. His tastes in Italian art ranged from the work of Fra Angelico to that of the 17th-century Bolognese masters…In 1834 Henry offered a large part of his collection to the town of Cherbourg, and on 29 July 1835 a museum to house his works was opened on the second floor of the Hôtel de Ville; it was later named the Musée Thomas-Henry.”.

Price: $950.00

Item ID: 7325