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an image of a painting of boats in the water near a castlepainting of a group of people on a rocky shore with a castle in the backgrounda painting of a group of people on the shorea picture of a painting of a man with a hat ona painting of a castle on a cliff by the water
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433 - Charles François Grenier de Lacroix, known as LACROIX DE MAR…
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Estimate €25,000 - €35,000
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Description
Charles François Grenier de Lacroix, known as LACROIX DE MARSEILLE (1700–1782) Presumed view of the port of Genoa Oil on canvas W_158.5 cm x H_111 cm Previous restorations Signed on the barrel in the foreground: “Grenier de Lacroix fecit Romae 1747” Related works: -Lacroix de Marseille (1700–1782), Seascape, 1744, Oil on canvas, 29 x 42 cm, Beaussant Lefèvre auction, 3 June 2016 -Lacroix of Marseille (1700–1782), An Imaginary View with Figures, 1745, Oil on canvas, 64.3 x 48.5 cm, Christie’s New York auction, 27 January 2022 -Lacroix de Marseille (1700–1782), A Mediterranean Harbour, 1750, Oil on canvas, 94.6 x 167 cm, Toledo Museum of Art. Little is known about the early life and training of Charles-François Grenier de Lacroix, known as Lacroix de Marseille. Whilst his presence in the Eternal City is documented in 1750, notably through his encounter with the Marquis de Vandières, it is likely that the artist arrived there much earlier. Several of his paintings located in Rome are in fact dated prior to 1750. This is evidenced by our painting, dated 1747, which already reveals a confident brushstroke and a solid style, still strongly marked by the influence of the master of the genre, Claude-Joseph Vernet (1714–1789). Having settled in Rome as early as 1734, Vernet gradually established himself there as one of the leading landscape and seascape painters of his generation. It is highly likely that Lacroix was his pupil or, at the very least, one of his close collaborators, despite the fourteen-year age gap between them. The links between the two artists are, in any case, well documented: in 1751, Lacroix produced, notably, four copies based on compositions by Vernet, which are of a quality very close to that of the originals. Our painting, which is of a particularly large size, reflects the taste of major European collectors for harbour scenes. Developed in Italy by Claude Gellée, known as Le Lorrain, from the late 1630s onwards, these harbour compositions were given a new lease of life in the 18th century under Vernet’s brush, who brought them to life with a mastery of atmospheric effects, light and figures. Following Vernet’s return to France in 1753, Lacroix’s style gradually broke free from that of his elder and increasingly asserted its own distinctive characteristics. Painted in 1747, our painting is now the oldest known composition of this format by the artist. Two paintings presented by the Heim Gallery in 1956 are thought to be dated 1743; there is also a harbour scene dated 1744, as well as an imaginary view painted in Rome in 1745, which recently came up for auction at Christie’s in New York. In terms of its scale and composition, our painting can be compared to the harbour scene held at the Toledo Museum of Art, signed and dated ‘Grenier de Lacroix fecit 1750’. This work, painted just three years later, provides a valuable point of comparison for gauging the level of artistic maturity Lacroix had already attained during his early years in Rome.
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About the sale The Great Centuries – Part 2
Auction location
Auction time 11/01/2026 at 10:30 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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