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Premium Jean-Baptiste Marie PIERRE (Paris, 1714 - 1789)
The Rape of …
See original version (French)
Jean-Baptiste Marie PIERRE (Paris, 1714 - 1789)
The Rape of …
See original version (French)
Lot no. 30
Description
Jean-Baptiste Marie PIERRE (Paris, 1714 - 1789)
The Rape of Europa
Oil on paper mounted on canvas
(Restorations)
In a carved and gilded oak frame, French work of the Louis XIV period
The Abduction of Europa, oil on paper laid down on canvas, by J.-B. M. Pierre
16.73 x 13.33 in.
42.5 x 41.5 cm
Our sketch can be linked with two works: The Abduction of Europa painted in 1750 for Claude-Henri Watelet, now in the Dallas Museum (P. 125, fig. 1)1 and with the painting painted in 1757 for the hanging known as the Amours des dieux intended for the Marquis de Marigny, destroyed in Arras during the First World War (*P.195)2.
It can be considered as a preparatory work for either of these two paintings, depending on its composition or format.
The composition relates more to the first painting, which takes place on the water (even if the general direction of reading is reversed), than to the second, which takes place on the shore. However, the square format of the sketch is problematic, as Watelet's commission had a specific purpose. The final work was to join two paintings by François Boucher from the collection of the lawyer Derbais, for whom Boucher had painted them in 1732 and which Watelet owned in 1750. The slightly longer format was therefore important from the outset in order to respect the harmony of the three works, which remained together in all Watelet's homes and were sold together on his death3.
The square format and dimensions might therefore correspond more closely to the sketch for the Marigny carton catalogued under *P. 1944 in Nicolas Lesur's catalogue and was for a time kept with the sketch conserved in Auxerre (P. 227)5 of another tapestry carton by the Gobelins conserved in the Musée du Louvre (P. 228)6. However, another square sketch, much closer in composition to the Arras painting, has recently come to light (Paris, Galerie Talabardon et Gautier; its sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Ader, 21 March 2023, no. 7, repr. coul. in the catalogue). The latter could well correspond to *P. 194.
According to Nicolas Lesur, our sketch may have been painted to prepare the cardboard for the Gobelins. Pierre would then have drawn his inspiration from the work produced a few years earlier for Watelet, which may have led Marigny to ask him to rethink his composition for a newer idea that would have led to the second sketch and then to the carton formerly kept in Arras.
We would like to thank Mr Nicolas Lesur for kindly confirming the authenticity of this work by e-mail on 1 September 2025 and for his invaluable help in writing this notice.
1. Nicolas Lesur, Olivier Aaron, Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre 1714-1789. Premier peintre du roi, Paris, 2009, p. 261-262.
2. Ibid, p. 284-285.
3. Their association was also highlighted by Paillet, who wrote the catalogue.
4. Nicolas Lesur, Olivier Aaron, op. cit. p. 284.
5. Ibid, p. 299.
6. Ibid, p. 299.
Jean-Baptiste Marie PIERRE (Paris, 1714 - 1789)
42.5 x 41.5 cm
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
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