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256 - Louis-Léopold BOILLY (La Bassée, 1761 – Paris, 1845) Portrai…
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Estimate €6,000 - €8,000
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Description
Louis-Léopold BOILLY (La Bassée, 1761 – Paris, 1845) Portrait of the sculptor Joseph Chinard (1756–1813) creating the medallion portrait of Louis-Léopold Boilly Oil on canvas (Restored) 30.2 x 23 cm Provenance: Collection of the President of the Council, Edouard Herriot (1872–1957); Then passed down through the family; Private collection, Lyon A leading figure of the Third and Fourth Republics, Edouard Herriot was closely linked to the city of Lyon, where he served as mayor for over 46 years. Little is known about his collection, although a recent sale shed some light on part of the mementoes and library of this graduate of the École Normale Supérieure and holder of the agrégation in literature¹. It was precisely because of its historical significance for Lyon’s heritage that our previously unseen painting must have aroused Edouard Herriot’s interest. Our painting depicts the eminent sculptor of Lyon, Joseph Chinard, busy creating a portrait of the painter Louis-Léopold Boilly. We are aware of three examples of the medallion, executed around 1801 and depicting Louis-Léopold Boilly: two in bronze (at the Palais des Beaux-Arts in Lille, inv. no. Sc 95 (fig. 1) and at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Angers, inv. no. MBA 216) and a plaster version, formerly in the Henry Join collection around 1909–1910, now lost.² Our painting differs from Louis-Léopold Boilly’s famous ‘small portraits’—the output of which Etienne Bréton and Pascal Zuber estimate at around eight hundred paintings—which depict the subjects in bust form against a monochrome background. Our portrait has a more intimate, more sentimental feel, given that the two artists were friends. Boilly depicts the sculptor at work in his studio, stylus in hand, captured at the very moment when Chinard is creating his medallion, which he subsequently dedicated to Boilly, as revealed by the inscription legible on the surviving copies: ‘CHINARD A BOILLY’. This touching testament to their friendship, painted around 1801, provides further evidence for the study of the social networks of these artists. We would like to thank Etienne Bréton and Pascal Zuber for confirming the authenticity of this work through a visual examination on 16 April 2025.  Louis-Léopold BOILLY (La Bassée, 1761 – Paris, 1845) 30.2 x 23 cm
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About the sale Old Masters & 19th-century masters
Auction location
Auction time 09/15/2026 at 11:00 AM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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