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Place of Origin: French
Midcentury Tapestry "La Table" Signed by Jean Lurcat
By Jean Lurçat
Located in Beirut, LB
A limited edition tapestry by Jean Lurçat entitled "La Table" signed in the lower right corner.
Depicting a lush surrealist still life of a picnic table laden with lobster, fruiting ...
Category
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage French Tapestries
Materials
Tapestry, Wool
Antique French Forest Scene Tapestry, circa 1880 4'6 x 10'
Located in New York, NY
Antique French Forest scene tapestry, circa 1880, 4'6 x 10'. An antique French fine hand-loomed tapestry, circa 1880. A forest scene, with trees and foliage surrounded by a floral bo...
Category
19th Century Antique French Tapestries
Materials
Wool
Antique Tapestry Verdure Tapestry Large Handmade French Tapestry, 1920
Located in New York, NY
Antique French Tapestry Rare Fountain and scenery Large Tapestry 5x7 1920
circa 1920
"A magnificent antique French tapestry depicting a scenic river including a fountain and a ...
Category
1920s Baroque Vintage French Tapestries
Materials
Wool
$6,620 Sale Price
20% Off
Homage to Mozart, Jean Picart Le Doux - French Tapestry, Edition artist - N 1467
By Aubusson Manufacture, Jean Picart Le Doux
Located in Paris, FR
Artist: Jean Picart Le Doux
Era: 20th century
Style: Design 50s-60s
Condition: Perfect condition
Material: Wool - Hand made
Width: 200 cm
Height: 150 cm
Depth: 0.5 cm
Located a ston...
Category
20th Century Mid-Century Modern French Tapestries
Materials
Wool
French Hand-Printed Tapestry in Medieval style - H 114 x L 97 cm - N° 1438
Located in Paris, FR
Located a stone's throw from the Eiffel Tower in Paris, we are a French family business
specializing in the purchase, sale, expertise, cleaning, restoration and conservation of
tapes...
Category
1980s Medieval Vintage French Tapestries
Materials
Wool
French Vintage Mid-Century tapestry signed by Christian Royer
By Christian Royer
Located in Beirut, LB
Abstract wool printed tapestry of Mid-century (20th) modern abstract french origin, signed at the bottom by Christian Royer.
It has a black background and holds a stunning work with ...
Category
1960s Mid-Century Modern Vintage French Tapestries
Materials
Wool
Late 17th Century French Aubusson Tapestry
Located in New York, NY
A French Aubusson rustic tapestry from the late 17th century, depicting several villagers on either side of a large tree in the right foreground, watching the cargo being unloaded from a large vessel docked by the verdant river bank at left. Enclosed by a narrow monochromatic border. Wool with silk inlay.
Measures: 10’1” H x 7’0” W
This tapestry was probably woven after a design by the French painter Claude-Joseph Vernet (1714-1789), renowned for his Marines, or maybe by his student Charles Grenier de Lacroix also known as Lacroix de Marseille...
Category
Late 17th Century Aubusson Antique French Tapestries
Materials
Wool
$20,796 Sale Price
20% Off
French Tapestry, Atelier La Renaude - Princess of the Villa d'Este - No. 1472
By Aubusson Manufacture
Located in Paris, FR
Located a stone's throw from the Eiffel Tower in Paris, we are a French family business
specializing in the purchase, sale, expertise, cleaning, restoration and conservation of
tapes...
Category
20th Century Aubusson French Tapestries
Materials
Wool
after Henri Matisse Nu Bleu Wool Tapestry Wall Art Hanging. 1970's
By (after) Henri Matisse
Located in Las Vegas, NV
circa 1970's woven wool tapestry after Henri Matisse Nu Bleu.
Large panel measuring 37" wide and 56" long.
Tapestry is hung on an old wooden rod.
Category
Mid-20th Century Mid-Century Modern French Tapestries
Materials
Wool, Wood
Nice Vintage Aubusson Style Jaquar Tapestry
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Beautiful Aubusson style tapestry with nice design with a gallant scene and nice colors, mechanical Jaquar manufacturing with wool and cotton.
Size: 100 x 140 cm.
Category
Mid-20th Century Aubusson French Tapestries
Materials
Wool
Aubusson Tapestry By Thérèse Le Guen "Vallé Blance" Signed Certified - No. 1412
By atelier robert four
Located in Paris, FR
A stone's throw from the Eiffel Tower We are a family business specializing in the purchase, sale and
expertise of old, modern and contemporary tapestries, rugs, kilims and textiles....
Category
1960s Aubusson Vintage French Tapestries
Materials
Wool, Silk
Victor Vasarely, Hand Signed Original Tapestry
By Victor Vasarely
Located in Geneve, CH
Victor Vasarely (1906-1997).
Panderlak,
circa 1983
Measures: 120 x 72 cm
Hand signed and numbered on the back, edition of 320.
Victor Vasarely, whose original name was Gyözö ...
Category
1980s Modern Vintage French Tapestries
Materials
Wool
$14,443 / item
17th Century Antique French Beauvais Grotesque Tapestry
Located in New York, NY
17th century French grotesque tapestry
An antique French Beauvais tapestry from the 17th century, depicting a Grotesque scene with an Elephant and ...
Category
17th Century Antique French Tapestries
Materials
Wool
$240,000 Sale Price
20% Off
Antique French Tapestry 1920 Handmade 6x8 Wool foundation 1920
Located in New York, NY
Antique French Tapestry 1920 Handmade Fountain 6x8 Wool Foundation 1920
6'2" x 7'5" 188cm x 226cm
A magnificent antique French tapestry depicting a scene of people among a founta...
Category
1920s Baroque Vintage French Tapestries
Materials
Wool
$7,900 Sale Price
20% Off
French Tapestry - Allegory Of Spring
Located in Brussels, Brussels
Lovely tapestry depicting the allegory of spring.
Very beautiful tapestry with a magnificent border.
It has retained its superb color.
In perfect condition.
Category
Early 20th Century Louis XV French Tapestries
Materials
Wool
Antique 20th Century Cross-Stitch Sampler with Alphabet & Numbers
Located in Barcelona, ES
Embark on a journey through time with our antique cross-stitch sampler from the early 20th century. This captivating piece features a rich crimson-on-ivory design, showcasing finely ...
Category
1930s Mid-Century Modern Vintage French Tapestries
Materials
Fabric
$487 Sale Price
73% Off
Antique Circa 1910 Brown French Needlepoint Rug 5'9 x 12'8
Located in New York, NY
5'9 × 12'8. A striking testament to early 20th-century French needlepoint artistry, this antique needlepoint rug, dating circa 1910, features a harmonious series of repeating floral ...
Category
20th Century French Tapestries
Materials
Wool
French Tapestry, Genuine Jacquard in Medieval Style - H160xW142 cm - No. 1440
By Royal Manufacture of Aubusson, Aubusson Manufacture
Located in Paris, FR
Located a stone's throw from the Eiffel Tower in Paris, we are a French family business
specializing in the purchase, sale, expertise, cleaning, restoration and conservation of
tapes...
Category
19th Century Medieval Antique French Tapestries
Materials
Wool
Antique Late 19th Century French Wall Hanging Pictorial Tapestry
Located in North Hollywood, CA
Wonderful antique French tapestry made of wool. Originally from the late 19th century. Just a beautiful hanging tapestry with a lot of details. Really well done.
It is in good vinta...
Category
Late 19th Century French Provincial Antique French Tapestries
Materials
Wool
$960 Sale Price
20% Off
Late 17th Century French Aubusson Allegorical Tapestry
Located in New York, NY
A French Aubusson “Louis XIV” allegorical tapestry from the late 17th or early 18th century, depicting an allegory of Spring, with Flora crowned b...
Category
Late 17th Century Aubusson Antique French Tapestries
Materials
Wool
$74,995 Sale Price
50% Off
1960 Vintage Art Nouveau Tapestry Abstract Fish Handwoven 2x4
Located in New York, NY
1960 Vintage Art Nouveau Tapestry Abstract Fish Handwoven 2x4
About Us~
Welcome to Antique Rug Collection. Your #1 Source for handmade Antique Rugs & Tapestries at great prices, cu...
Category
1950s Baroque Vintage French Tapestries
Materials
Wool
$1,960 Sale Price
20% Off
1106, 18th Century Aubusson Tapestry
Located in Paris, FR
1106 - a very beautiful 18th century Aubusson tapestry with very pretty color.
Category
1790s Aubusson Antique French Tapestries
Materials
Wool
Mid-Century Modern Tapestry by Jean Picart le Doux, 'Hommage a Paul Eluard'
By Jean Picart Le Doux
Located in London, GB
This is a stunning tapestry by the well-known tapestry maker Jean Picart le Doux. It is signed on the bottom right hand side. The tapestry is named 'Homage a Paul Eluard...
Category
1950s Mid-Century Modern Vintage French Tapestries
Materials
Wool
Pretty Vintage Aubusson Style Jaquar Tapestry “fountain rest “
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Very pretty mid century French tapestry with nice galant design titled “Repos Fontaine” (Fontain Rest) and beautiful colors, woven with mechanical Jaquar looms with wool, acrylic and...
Category
Late 20th Century Aubusson French Tapestries
Materials
Wool, Cotton
1100 - 19th Century Aubusson Tapestry
Located in Paris, FR
Very pretty Tapestry 19th century Aubusson chinoiserie style with very pretty and freche colors ref. 1100.
Category
1850s Aubusson Antique French Tapestries
Materials
Wool
Flemish Tapestry 18th - The Swiss Guard, Pastoral Passage of the Pope - N° 1483
Located in Paris, FR
18th Century Flanders Tapestry - The Swiss Guard, Pastoral Passage of the Pope - No. 1483
Period: 18th century
Condition: Perfect condition
Material: Wool & silk
Width: 275 cm
Height...
Category
18th Century French Provincial Antique French Tapestries
Materials
Wool, Silk
18th Century French Felletin Chinoiserie Mythological Tapestry w/ Trees & Satyrs
Located in New York, NY
An 18th century French Felletin chinoiserie mythological tapestry, size 11'6"H x 17'9"W.
This grand mythological tapestry depicts a mythological forest scene, with various satyrs and other mythological figures reveling in Dionysian fashion in the confines of the woodland setting. Finely detailed, with nimble articulation of figures and form, the piece also incorporates chinoiserie motifs, with stylized trees and bushes that have Oriental styling. The lower right corner of the primary field features both the town mark and weaver's mark, as well as the French symbol of the fleur de lis. The tapestry is enclosed within an elaborate outer border, featuring pendant...
Category
18th Century Antique French Tapestries
Materials
Wool, Silk
$199,996 Sale Price
20% Off
Bobyrug’s pretty antique French Aubusson style Jacquard tapestry
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Exquisite French antique tapestry Dating back to the late 19th or early 20th century, this mechanically woven masterpiece on Jacquard looms showcases a charming countryside scene. Cr...
Category
Late 19th Century Aubusson Antique French Tapestries
Materials
Wool, Cotton
984 - Jacquard Tapestry "Touch" is from the Lady with the Unicorn Series
Located in Paris, FR
984 - This Jacquard tapestry "touch" is from the Lady with the Unicorn series. On this hanging, the sense of touch is highlighted.
Framed by the lion and the unicorn...
Category
1950s Aubusson Vintage French Tapestries
Materials
Wool
1900 Antique French Tapestry Wool & Silk Game 7x7 Square 196cm x 201cm
Located in New York, NY
1900 Antique French Tapestry Wool & Silk Game 7x7 Square 6'5" x 6'7" 196cm x 201cm
"This is an outstanding antique French Aubusson tapestry in a fantastic large square size- This wo...
Category
Early 1900s Baroque Antique French Tapestries
Materials
Wool, Silk
$9,991 Sale Price
20% Off
Pretty antique french Aubusson tapestry panel
By Royal Manufacture of Aubusson
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Very beautiful antique French Aubusson tapestry fragment featuring flowers and trees With nice natural colours in the hues of yellow, green, pink, purple and brown, entirely hand wov...
Category
Late 19th Century Aubusson Antique French Tapestries
Materials
Wool
Bobyrug’s Pretty vintage Aubusson style Jaquar tapestry
Located in Saint Ouen, FR
Beautiful French Jaquar Aubusson style tapestry, with nice romantic design and beautiful colors, mechanical Jaquar fabric with wool woven.
✨✨✨
"Experience the epitome of luxury and ...
Category
Mid-20th Century Aubusson French Tapestries
Materials
Wool, Cotton
1880's Antique French Wool and Silk Aubusson Tapestry
Located in Dallas, TX
76928 Late 19th-Century Antique French Aubusson Verdure Tapestry, Landscape Scene Wall Hanging. This hand-woven silk and wool late 19th-century antique French Aubusson verdure tapestry depicts a landscape scene of the French countryside. Displaying dense foliage, greenery, fauna and flowers, this verdure tapestry portrays a tranquil setting. The floral scroll and bird border seamlessly blends into the pictorial scene without taking away from the majestic style. An outer border composed of a zigzag chevron add interest and a pop of color. Rendered in variegated shades of brown, ecru, taupe, pale green, slate blue, red, pink, lavender, beige and charcoal. The hues of brown range from chocolate brown to lighter shades of brown reflecting a fallow color to sand. Other colors range from ecru (greyish-pale yellow or a light greyish-yellowish brown) to old gold (yellow color that varies from light olive or olive brown) and hues of olive and sage green. With its commitment to tradition and heart full of whimsy, this antique Aubusson wall hanging...
Category
Late 19th Century Louis XVI Antique French Tapestries
Materials
Wool, Silk
$4,956 Sale Price
23% Off
French antique, Greenery Tapestry 19th century by Aubusson Manufactury - N° 1025
By Aubusson Manufacture
Located in Paris, FR
Period: 19th century
Condition: Perfect condition
Material: Wool
Width: 1m60
Height: 1m25
Located a stone's throw from the Eiffel Tower in Paris, we are a French family business
spe...
Category
19th Century French Provincial Antique French Tapestries
Materials
Wool, Silk
Tapestry Royal Manufacture of Aubusson, Louis XVI period 1738 at the Gobelins
By Aubusson Manufacture
Located in Madrid, ES
Tapestry from the Royal Manufacture of Aubusson, Louis XVI period , made in 1738 at the Gobelins
One panel from a series of Gobelins tapestries depicting the History of Esther, illustrating Esther seated and attended by handmaidens, one washing her feet in golden basin, another fastening a bracelet, another offering a mirror, all observed by Mordecai, woven in the workshop of Michele Audran after a design by J. F. de Troy.
The Toilet of Esther c.1778-85.Royal Collection Trust-Queens Audience Chamber
Windsor Castle
The Sketches for the Esther Cycle by Jean-François de Troy (1736)
“and the maid was fair and beautiful; whom Mor’decai, ..., took for his own daughter.” (Est. 2:7)
A supple and undulating genius, both a flattering portraitist and a prolix history painter, as well as a brilliant genre painter, in a gallant or worldly vein, Jean-François de Troy (Paris, 1679 – Rome, 1752), solicited, although he had passed the threshold of old age, a new royal commission up to his ambitions. To obtain it, he submitted – successfully - for the approval of the Bâtiments du roi (administration), seven modelli painted in 1736 with his usual alacrity.
Inspired by one of the most novelistic texts of the Old Testament, the Book of Esther, these sketches in a rapid and virtuoso manner were transformed by the artist, between 1737 and 1740 into large cartoons intended to serve as models for the weavers of the Gobelins factory. Showing undeniable ease and skill in the composition in perfect harmony with the sensitivities of the times, the tapestry set met with great success.
The Story of Esther perfectly corresponded to the plan of the Bâtiments du roi to renew the repertoire of tapestry models used for the weavers of the royal factories while it also conformed to the tastes of Louis XV’s subjects for a fantastical Orient, the set for a dramatic tale in which splendour, love and death were combined. Indeed, no tapestry set was woven in France during the 18th century as often as that of Esther.
The series of modelli painted by de Troy during the year 1736 looks to the history of French painting and decoration under Louis XV as much as it does the history of the Gobelins. It probably counts among the most important rococo pictorial groups to have remained in private hands. First the Biblical source illustrated by De Troy which constitutes the base of one of the richest iconographical traditions of Western art will be considered. Then the circumstances and specific character of French civilisation during the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XV which contributed to making the theme of Esther a relevant subject, both attractive to contemporaries and remarkably in line with the sensitivities of the time will be elucidated.
An examination of the exceptional series of sketches united here, the cartoons and the tapestries that they anticipate as well as a study of their reception will close this essay. The Book of Esther: A scriptural source at the source of rich iconography.
The origin of the Esther tapestry set by Jean-François de Troy – origin and creation of a masterpiece
According to the evidence of one of the artist’s early biographers, the chevalier de Valory, author of a posthumous elegy of the master, read at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture on 6 February 1762, it was apparently due to early16 rivalry with François Lemoyne (1688-1737), his younger colleague who had precisely just been appointed First Painter to the King in 1736, that had encouraged François de Troy to seek a commission allowing him to show off his ease and his promptitude at the expense of a rival who was notoriously laborious: “M. De Troy, retaining some resentment of the kind of disadvantage which he believed to have suffered compared with his emulator looked to regain some territory by making use of the facility his rival did not possess.
Lemoyne was excessively long in the creation of his works,and M. De Troy of a rare celerity: consequently, with this particular talent, the latter offered to the court to make paintings appropriate to be executed at the Gobelins Factory; and it is to this circumstance that we owe the beautiful series of the Story of Esther, which would be sufficient alone to give him a great reputation.”17 Beyond the suspicion inspired by the topos, which still constitutes, more or less, a tale of rivalries between artists in ancient literature, there is probably some truth in what Valory reports although A.-J. Dezalier d’Argenville (who indicates rather spitefully that de Troy did not hesitate to “cut prices” to impose himself, benefitting from the productivity assured by the unlikely rapidity of his brush)18 proves to be more evasive: “As he looked to busy himself, he had offered to make the paintings that serve as models for the King’s tapestries cheaply: which did not please his colleagues.
He was given a choice of two tapestry series to be made and he took the Story of Esther and that of Jason”.19 Whether or not the choice was actually left to de Troy (which would appear rather casual on the royal administration’s part all the same), it seems likely that the artist, whose contemporaries extol his “fire”, as the faculty of invention was then called, must have ardently aspired to the possibility of using on a very large scale the “creative genius” with which Dezallier d’Argenville credits him. The decoration of the private apartments, the fashion for which Louis XV had promoted at Versailles and Fontainebleau, offered little opportunity to excel in this area. Other than painting for altarpieces, only tapestries could allow comparison with Lemoyne who had been granted – unfortunately for him – a major decoration: the enormous ceiling of the Hercules Room at Versailles. Favoured by the recent improvement in France’s financial situation, the revival of patronage offered de Troy a commission fitting for him, in a field in which, however, he had hardly any experience.
Anxious to renew the repertoire of models available to the Gobelins factory, the Duc d’Antin, surintendant des Bâtiments du roi from 1708 to 1736 followed by his successor, Philibert Orry comte de Vignory, gave him the task of producing seven large cartoons inspired by the Book of Esther corresponding to the brilliant sketches or modelli which de Troy had produced in one go, or almost (very few preparatory drawings can in fact be linked to the Esther cycle and all seem to be at the execution stage of the cartoons).20 Subjected to the approval of the Administration des Bâtiments according to the procedure in use for projects being planned for the Gobelins, sketches made rapidly during 1736 were approved and the project launched immediately. Thereupon came the news of François Lemoyne’s death, who, ground down by work and a victim of his private torment, committed suicide on 4 June 1737.
Against all expectations, de Troy did not replace his rival in the position of First Painter (which remained vacant until the appointment of Charles Coypel in January 1747), which would perhaps have made him too obviously the beneficiary of the drama. The awarding of the position of Director of the French Academy in Rome came to console him while he had already produced (or he was in the process of finishing), in Paris, three of the seven cartoons of the cycle (The Fainting of Esther finished in 1737 and the Toilet and Coronation of Esther, both finished in 1738).
De Troy, we can see, did not follow the order of the narrative but began with the subjects which apparently offered the least difficulty because he had already depicted them, or because they fall into a strong pictorial tradition (such is the case especially for the Fainting of Esther). He had hardly settled at the Palazzo Mancini in August 1738, when his first task which awaited the new director of the French Academy naturally consisted of honouring the royal commission and finishing without delay the final cartoons of the Story of Esther after the sketches he must have taken with him. As prompt as ever, de Troy discharged himself of the execution of the four remaining cartoons in only two years, by beginning with the largest format which allowed him to strike the imagination and to impose himself as soon as he arrived on the Roman stage: the Triumph of Mor’decai which was finished in 1739 (like Esther’s Banquet).
The following year, the Mor’decai's Disdain and The Sentencing of Haman were brought to an end in the same Neo-Venetian style, obviously tributary to Veronese with its choice of “open” monumental architecture which is characteristic of the entire cycle.21 The series, it should be noted, was almost augmented with some additional scenes in the mid 1740s. Indeed, the first tapestry set finished at the Gobelins in 1744 proved to be unsuitable for the arrangement of the Dauphine’s apartments at Versailles for which it had been intended to decorate the walls the following year (cf infra). Informed of this, de Troy, considering that the story of Esther offered “several good subjects,” immediately offered to illustrate one or new subject among those “which could appear to be the most interesting”.
The directeur des Bâtiments Orry, who managed the State’s accounts, obviously judged it less costly to have one of the tapestries widened to fill in the end of the Dauphine’s bedroom,22 which has probably deprived us of very original compositions, because de Troy had already illustrated the most famous themes, those that benefitted from a strongly established iconographical tradition and from which it was not easy to deviate
The Tapestry Set of the Story of Esther
Placed on the tapestry looms of the Gobelins at the end of the 1730s in Michel Audran’s workshop, the cycle created by de Troy aroused true infatuation. The few hundred tapestries made between 1738 and 1797 – all in high-warp tapestry and woven in wool and silk except for four in low-warp made in Neilson’s workshop – show the impressive success of a tapestry set that was without any doubt the most frequently woven of the 18th century in France.
29 Only three cartoons had been delivered by de Troy in 1738 when the first tapestry set was begun by Audran under the expert eye of Jean-Baptiste Oudry to whom the Directeur général des bâtiments, Philibert Orry had assigned the (weekly) supervision of the weaving. During the summer of 1738, the piece of the Fainting of Esther, which Oudry judged to be admirable, was finished.
During the winter of 1742, Oudry informed Orry that about two ells of the Triumph of Mor’decai had been made “with no faults”,that the Coronation of Esther was finished and that the Esther at her Toilet “a very gracious tapestry” was “a little over half” finished. Exhibited at Versailles in 1743, these two last pieces were admired by Louis XV and the Court.
On 3 December 1744, the set of seven tapestries was finally delivered to the Garde Meuble. It was intended, the honour was not slight, to decorate the apartments of the Infanta Maria Teresa Rafaela of Spain whose marriage to the young Dauphin Louis-Ferdinand had been fixed for the following year (it took place on 23 February 1745). Apparently it was thought that the theme of Esther the biblical heroine and wife of a foreign sovereign was appropriate for the apartments of the Spanish Dauphine.
As early as the month of March, the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel informed de Troy that her grand cabinet was decorated with the “Esther tapestry set” specifying however that “for lack of two small or one large piece, we have not been able to decorate the end of the room”. This difficulty led immediately to the Banquet episode being woven a second time in two parts (they were delivered to the Garde-Meuble on 30 December 1746) to garnish the panels on each side of the bed of the Dauphine who would hardly enjoy them (she died on 22 July 1746 and the decoration was installed for the new Dauphine Maria Josepha of Saxony).
The appearance of the set’s remarkable border, which imitated a richly sculpted wooden frame, should be mentioned. Conceived in 1738 by the ornamentalist Pierre Josse-Perrot and used in the later weavings until 1768, it tended to reinforce the resolutely painterly appearance of the tapestry set which, in this regard, pushed the art of tapestry as far as its ultimate mimetic possibilities. With the exception of Mor’decai's Disdain which had been removed earlier, the “editio princeps” of the story of Esther (from then on in nine pieces) remained at Versailles until the Revolution. Of the eight surviving tapestries, four are at the chateau of Compiègne and four belong today to the Mobilier National. No less than seven tapestry sets reputed to be complete (one of them in fact only had six tapestries) would be produced officially at the Gobelins up to 1772.
Literature:
1- The Œuvres mêlées of an emulator of Racine, the Abbé Augustin NADAL thus include an Esther. Divertissement spiritual which is exactly contemporary with Jean François de Troy’s cycle since it was performed in 1735 and published in Paris three years later.
2-Le Siècle de Louis XIV, 1751, 1785 ed., p. 96-97 for French ed.
3- Lemoyne and de Troy had been obliged to share the First Prize in the competition organised in 1727 between the most prominent history painters of the Académie Royale.
4- Mémoires…, pub. L. DUSSIEUX et al., 1854, II, p.265.
5-The fact that de Troy, at the risk of falling out with his colleagues, did not hesitate to make use of prices in order to convince the new directeur des Bâtiments Philibert Orry, is confirmed by Mariette who adds tersely “it caused much shouting” (pub. 1851-1860, II, p. 103).
6- Abrégé de la vie des plus fameux peintres…, ed. 1762, IV, p. 368-369 20 Early comments on the painter are inclined to present him as a kind of “pure painter”, doing without the medium of drawing, a few intermediary studies between the Esther sketches and the large cartoons at the Louvre nevertheless show that de Troy used red chalk (see in the catalogue, the notice for the Meal of Esther and Ahasuerus under the entry drawing) to change one or other figure.
7-C. GASTINEL-COURAL (cat. exp. PARIS, 1985, p. 9-13) as well as the article by J. VITTET, exh. cat. LA ROCHE-GUYON, 2001, p. 51-55.
8-The Hermitage in St. Petersburg conserves five tapestries of these two royal gifts whose provenance still awaits elucidation (as far as we are aware). In 1766, the Grand Marshal of Russia, Count Razumovski (or Razamowski), acquired the Fainting and the Banquet extracted from the sixth weaving (J. VITTET, 2001, p. 53).
9- Lettres écrites de Suisse, d’Italie…,quoted by J. VITTET, op. cit., p. 54.
10-The tapestry set remained in the hands of a branch of the Hapsburg-Lorraine family until 1933 (ibid. P. 54).
11-Quoted by Chr. LERIBAULT, 2002, p. 97, note 269.
12-Y. CANTAREL-BESSON, 1992, p. 241.
Catalogue
The Esther at her Toilet
Oil on canvas, 57 x 51 cm Provenance: Painted in 1736 at the same time as the six other modelli of the Story of Esther intended to be presented, for approval, to the direction des Bâtiments du Roi; perhaps identifiable among a lot of sketches by Jean-François de Troy in the post mortem inventory of the amateur, historian and critic Claude-Henri Watelet (1718-1786) drawn up on 13 January 1786 and following days (A.N. T 978, n° 30) then in the sale of the property of the deceased, Paris, 12 June 1786, n° 33; Paris, François Marcille Collection (who owned a series of six sketches from which the Triumph of Mor’decai was missing, see infra); Paris, Marcille Sale, Hôtel Drouot, 12-13 January 1857, n° 36; Asnières, Mme de Chavanne de Palmassy ( ?) collection; Paris, Galerie Cailleux; Paris, Humbert de Wendel collection (acquired from the Galerie Cailleux in 1928); by inheritance in the same family; Paris, Sotheby’s, 23 June 2011, n° 61. In order not to add unnecessarily to the technical commentary on each work, the catalogue raisonné by Chr. Leribault which contains a substantial bibliography on the series should be referred to. The other bibliographical references only concern the publications and exhibitions to have appeared and been presented more recently. Bibliography and Exhibitions: Chr. LERIBAULT, 2002, n° P. 247 (repr.); E. LIMARDO DATURI, 2004, p. 28; Exh. cat. NANTES, 2011, p. 138, n° 34, referred to in note 1; Sotheby’s catalogue, Tableaux anciens et du XIXe siècle, 23 June 2011, n° 61 (repr.).
Related Works:
Tapestry cartoon: The cartoon (oil on canvas, 329 x 320 cm), the third made by the artist in Paris after the sketches had been approved by the direction des Bâtiments, is in the Louvre (Inv. 8315). It previously bore the painter’s signature and the date 1738 (inscriptions which are found on the tapestries). The royal administration paid 1600 livres for it on 21 June 1738 and it was exhibited at the Salon in the year of its creation.
Summary Biography
1679 (27 January): Baptism in Paris (Parish of St. Nicolas du Chardonnet) of Jean-François de Troy, son of the painter François de Troy and Jeanne Cotelle, sister of the painter Jean II Cotelle.
1696-1698: Studies (apparently rather turbulent) at the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture.
1698-1708: First trip to Italy. Is obliged to leave Rome in January 1711 after a tempestuous affair (a duel?), de Troy extends the traditional Roman experience as a pensionnaire at the Académie de France by also visiting Tuscany where he stays for a long time, Venice (his art in face has a strongly Venetian character) and Genoa.
1708: De Troy (whose father had been elected Director of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture on 7 July) is agréé and immediately received at the Académie with Apollo and Diana Piercing with their Arrows the Children of Niobe (Montpellier, Musée Fabre) on 28 July.
1710: First royal commission, paid for on 10 May (a sketch representing “the Promotion of the Order of the Holy Spirit” for the tapestry series of the History of the King).
1716: Jean-François de Troy is elected Assistant Professor at the Academy.
1720: He is appointed Professor.
1723: The artist creates the double portrait of Louis XV...
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