Bernard-Ed. Swebach (1800-1870) - Squire training the horse of King Louis XVIII

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Bernard-Edouard Swebach
Bernard-Ed. Swebach (1800-1870) - Squire training the horse of King Louis XVIII
1819

About the Item

Bernard-Edouard SWEBACH (Paris 1800 – Versailles 1870) Squire training the horse of King Louis XVIII Oil on canvas H. 24.5 cm; L. 33 cm Signed and dated lower left, 1819 Origin : – Office of Mr. de Villers – Sale of June 19, 1992, Drouot, Couturier-de Nicolaÿ study, catalog No. 68 – Price excluding fees: 225,000 Francs, the equivalent of €34,300 excluding fees – Mark Brady Gallery, New York – American private collection Sometimes reduced to a simple imitator of his father Jacques-François Swebach-Desfontaines (1769-1823), Bernard-Edouard demonstrates an astonishing artistic maturity in this true little masterpiece produced at only 19 years old. Even if his name has remained quite famous among lovers of old painting, few biographical elements are known to us. Le Bénézit specifies that Bernard-Edouard entered the Beaux-Arts in Paris on February 28, 1814, but without indicating in the studio of which master; his true mentor remaining his father, both from a technical point of view and for the inspiration of the subjects treated: horses, hunting scenes, stables... When in 1815 the father was called by Tsar Alexander 1st to direct the manufacture of St. Petersburg porcelain, the son accompanies him; however, this Russian stay, which lasted until 1820, was interrupted by frequent returns to Paris, as evidenced by our painting dated 1819 and executed in France, and another (representing a battle of oriental horsemen) from the same year. Note that these two paintings are signed "Ed. Swebach", thus avoiding any confusion with the father and a sign of an already asserted artistic personality, while later works will simply be signed "Swebach", i.e. to indicate a two-handed realization. , or to maintain some ambiguity as to the author. Bernard-Edouard, while in Russia he had already enjoyed an excellent reputation since 1820, made himself known to the French public on the occasion of his first participation in the Salon in 1822; he will exhibit there, irregularly, several paintings until 1838. He also had a fairly important activity as an engraver and lithographer: for example the Disagreements of the hunt with hounds, a series of 12 plates published in Brussels in 1840, La Chasse au cerf, another series of 12 plates, a series on the Revolution of July 1830... Swebach owned a country residence in Aulnay where he regularly received friends. He ended his life in Versailles, dying at n° 84, rue Royale, in the presence of his wife Jeanne-Julie d'Astier, whom he had married in 1850. As we have mentioned, art historians or critics of the time (such as Augustin Jal) did not fail to underline the stylistic proximity to his father; yet Bernard-Edouard represents rather a mix between Carle Vernet and the English equestrian painters of the time, while his father is more a synthesis between a 17th century Dutch side (Wouwermans, Berchem…) and contemporary artists like Demarne or Taunay. In our painting there is even a romantic and somewhat fiery side that we find in works of the same period by Géricault or Horace Vernet, and which will not necessarily be present in his later creations. Our painting illustrates the young Swebach's closeness to royal power; this will be confirmed for example by the painting of the Salon of 1824, which represents a horse race where the royal prize is awarded by Louis XVIII. The subject is therefore that of a squire from the Maison du Roi mastering Louis XVIII's own horse, as indicated by the handwritten inscription on the frame, the scene probably taking place in Versailles, in view of the landscape, and not in the Parisian stables of the King, place du Carrousel. The school of Versailles, made up of the Grande and the Petite Écurie, had closed in 1810 and was reopened in 1814 by the Grand Ecuyer of France, the Vicomte d'Abzac (1744-1827). Beyond the teaching of riding to the military nobility, the Stables housed the King's war and hunting horses, which were trained and ridden there. The squire represented here is very probably the young Antoine Cartier, Viscount of Aure (1799, Toulouse – 1863, Saint-Cloud). A former student of the Prytanée de La Flèche, then a graduate of the military school of Saint-Cyr in 1815, Aure joined the King's bodyguards in Versailles in 1816, then followed an instruction course at the Grande Écurie. He was named student squire by d'Abzac in 1817. At the time of our painting, he was already Louis XVIII's cavalcadour squire, i.e. he had command (choice, training, exercise) of the stable of horses serving in the person of the King. Close to Louis XVIII, who appreciated his social ease and his salient mind, Aure gave riding lessons, among others, to Charles X, the Duke of Angoulême and the Duchess of Berry, then to the sons of Louis-Philippe. When the school of Versailles was finally closed in 1830, AurHe held positions of responsibility at the cavalry school in Saumur, at the Haras du Pin, and ended his career under Napoleon III as director of the Emperor's stables, then as Inspector General of the stud farms in 1861. The trainer in our painting may correspond to the physical description of Aure given by André Montheilet: "... tall, well made, elegantly built, expressive face, mobile, almond-shaped eyes, charming a tad mocking lips very delicate, nose a bit strong…”. The confrontation between the man and the irritable stallion does not prevent the squire from displaying his mastery of the situation, a mixture of authority and tact towards the animal. As for King Louis XVIII, it is not certain that in 1819 he could still ride on horseback because of his very overweight and poor health; he had however succeeded in 1818 in organizing a court hunt (the only one of his reign) in the forest of Rambouillet. It is even said that from 1815, from his Parisian palace in the Tuileries, he no longer traveled beyond Saint-Cloud. We may have a doubt about the identity of the first owner of this painting, mentioned on the back of the canvas as belonging to the "Cabinet of M. de Villers". The first hypothesis, the most attractive and altogether quite coherent, would go to the collection of the architect Michel Jean Maximilien Villers born in Saint-Martin du Parc in the Eure, a pupil of Percier, who married in 1794 Marie-Denise Lemoine (1774-1821), female painter like her sister Marie-Victoire and her cousin Elisabeth Gabiou (future Chaudet). The element of doubt concerns the absence of a particle in all the written sources concerning him. However, Maximilien Villers was a well-known collector, whose dealer Lebrun organized a sale in 1812: alongside works by old masters, there were paintings by Gauffier, Bidauld, Thibault, Carle Vernet, Demarne, and his wife. . Moreover, Villers was close to royalist circles. He thus worked for the Duchess of Angoulême: restoration of the gardens of the castle of Villeneuve-l'Etang in Marnes la Coquette (private residence of the Duchess between 1821 and 1850), construction of the Parisian stables of the Duchess in the streets of Lille and the 'University. He had also acquired at auction on July 16, 1802 the estate of Madame Elisabeth (Louis XVI's sister) in Versailles. Second possibility, a landscape painter named Auguste de Villers, of whom we only know that he indicates to be domiciled at the Palace of Versailles 7, rue des Reservoirs, at the time when he exhibited at the Salon between 1840 and 1848.

Creator:
Bernard-Edouard Swebach (1800 - 1870, French)
Creation Year:
1819
Dimensions:
Height: 9.65 in (24.5 cm)Width: 13 in (33 cm)
Medium:
Oil,Canvas
Movement & Style:
French School
Period:
1810-1819
Condition:
Perfect condition. Cleaned.
Gallery Location:
BELEYMAS, FR
Reference Number:
1stDibs: LU186029879702

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