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an old handwritten letter from a man who is writing on a piece of paperan old letter with a black ink writing on a piece of paper
Ader

214 - Jacques-Louis DAVID (1748–1825).
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Estimate €2,500 - €3,000
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Description
Jacques-Louis DAVID (1748–1825). L.A., [Brussels 1822?], to Alexandre Abel de Pujol in Paris; 3 pages, in-8, addressed. A very fine letter offering advice to his former pupil. David assures his ‘dear Mr Abel’ of his friendship, dating back to his ‘tender youth’, and gives his opinion on his work: ‘Your style is grand, your lines are beautiful, and your compositions are ingenious’… He focuses in particular on the painting of Saint Roch healing the plague victims [fresco for the Church of Saint-Sulpice]: ‘Generally speaking, for works of this kind—whether in oil and particularly for frescoes—one needs simple, clear poses, so that the movements can be seen from a distance and there is no doubt as to their position; and to achieve this, imitate the method of the great masters of the art. Andrea del Sarto, with whom you are familiar, Fra Bartolomeo, &c &c, provide examples of this in their works; they will advise you not to include too many episodes, not to fill the gaps that naturally occur in compositions with figures which, though interesting, detract from the overall effect, and indeed that the more interesting they are, the more they must be excluded, for they divert attention from the main subject; they will tell you a great truth, namely that in the arts or in literature, it is harder to take away than to add, and I would add that what may seem barren to our French eyes is precisely the key element that makes a masterpiece; we have a tendency to overdo it, we want to say too much, and this is why the connoisseur derives less pleasure from contemplating our work, because we leave him nothing to guess at for the sake of his own self-esteem’. And he makes this recommendation: ‘When you have created figures intended to be grandiose, do not diminish them with shrunken or bent limbs; instead, elongate them in keeping with the character you give to your figure. For example, this woman climbing the steps to present herself before St Roch so that he may favour her—I would have liked to see her limbs fully extended; both arms are too close to her body; I would have preferred at least one of them to be held further forward.’ He also criticises ‘the young man helping this woman on the right-hand side of the painting’, whose ‘right arm should have been extended’, even if it meant not showing his knee: ‘Let’s leave it to the connoisseurs to judge; they know their stuff, whatever people may say; they are less fussy than we are, who burden our art with too many difficulties.’ It is because he knows Abel’s modesty that he speaks to him in this way: “With your well-deserved talent and your modesty, you will go far, and I shall be proud to have recognised your potential despite the wrong path you were allowed to take.” David is also grateful to ‘the minister who employs you; he has adopted an excellent system—that of providing work for the young artists of our country. I must hold him in high regard, for he has come to my aid; the school is falling into decline’…
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About the sale Letters and Autograph Manuscripts – Part II
Auction location
Auction time 10/14/2026 at 2:00 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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