Photo 1/1 du lot
CONAN BELLEVILLE Hôtel d’Ainay

215 - Jean NAIGEON (1757-1832) Allegory in praise of Rubens Pen an…
See original version (French)

Estimate €1,200 - €1,800
Sale commission
Description
Jean NAIGEON (1757-1832) Allegory in praise of Rubens Pen and wash 19.6 x 40.1 cm Allegory to the glory of Le Sueur Pen and wash 19.6 x 40.6 cm Related works : Jean Naigeon, Allégories à la gloire de Rubens et de Le Sueur, black stone, white and blue chalk, Anonymous sale, Nice, Mes Wetterwald-Rannou-Cassegrain, 6 December 2003, lot 33, then Galerie Eric Coatelem, 2004. Jean Naigeon, Allégories à la gloire de Rubens et de Le Sueur, oil on canvas, Centre national des arts plastiques (Inv.: FNAC PFH-9114 and Inv.: FNAC PFH-9115). Trained at the Dijon Academy by François Devosge, Jean Naigeon, who should not be confused with his namesake Jean-Claude Naigeon, went to Paris in 1780 accompanied by his friend Pierre Paul Prud'hon. He was recommended by Jean-Georges Wille to Jean-Marie Pierre, director of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, and then entered David's studio. The Revolution deprived him of commissions, and in 1789 he turned to an administrative career, which culminated in his appointment as curator of the Musée du Luxembourg from 1802 to 1830. Our pair of drawings is a first idea for a decoration composed of two allegories in grisaille to the glory of Rubens and Le Sueur, formerly placed on the tympanums of the east gallery of the Palais du Luxembourg, where Naigeon had brought together the cycles of Marie de Médicis by Rubens and the life of Saint Bruno by Le Sueur, now in the Louvre. Our sheets show significant differences from the sketches and the finished décor, both in terms of detail and the number of allegorical figures represented. Nevertheless, the 1803 Explication des tableaux... composant la galerie du Palais du Sénat1 gives us Naigeon's own description of the décor and allows us to interpret the drawings to some extent. The bust of Rubens is crowned by Immortality, the cornucopia at the base of the pedestal symbolises the fertility of the painter's inspiration from which he drew to compose the story of Marie de Médicis; to the left of the pedestal, Painting holds a genie holding out a palette and a trumpet of Fame, next to it, seated and holding a lyre, is Poetry. Next to Immortality, History "inscribes the name of this great man among the most famous painters". The allegory in honour of Le Sueur shows, from left to right, Clio, the muse of history, writing on a tablet the scene she is witnessing, the genius of Painting holding the palette in one hand and indicating with the other, with regret, that the painter ended his career at the age of 38. The bust is crowned by Minerva, with Philosophy next to her and Fame seated on the right of the composition. The grisailles remained in the Palais du Luxembourg until they were replaced by the imperial coat of arms during the Second Empire, which was itself replaced by the attributes of the Republic after 1870. 1 Explanation of the paintings, statues, busts, etc. making up the Senate Gallery, restored by order of the Senate-Conservator. It includes: the Gallery by Rubens, the Petit cloître des Chartreux, by Lesueur, the Ports de France by Vernet with the suite by M. Hüe, Didot, 1803. Pages 34 to 36.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
About the sale Furniture and Works of Art - Prints - Ancient and Modern Paintings
Auction location
Auction time 06/24/2026 at 2:30 PM
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
You may also like