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Galerie Dreyfus
32
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JEAN-FRANÇOIS GANIF KNOWN AS CLERMONT
(PARIS, 1717 – REIMS, …
See original version (French)
32
-
JEAN-FRANÇOIS GANIF KNOWN AS CLERMONT
(PARIS, 1717 – REIMS, …
See original version (French)
Estimate €65,000 - €80,000
Voluntary lot
Description
JEAN-FRANÇOIS GANIF
KNOWN AS CLERMONT
(PARIS, 1717 – REIMS, 1807)
Figures in a bucolic landscape
c. 1750
Oils on canvas
Set of four panels (upper section arched)
207 x 92.7 cm
Provenance
Maurice Segoura, Paris, 23 February 1983
Expert assessment
Alastair Laing
These four scenes depict the bucolic pleasures of an idealised countryside.
Whether allegories of the senses or playful depictions of innocence, these operetta-style shepherdesses and shepherds indulge in
idleness, playing blind man’s buff here, peering into a dark chamber there… The few
sheep serve as a pretext for creating a pastoral atmosphere, to which the shepherdesses’
ribboned crooks lend an air of artificial charm. Presented in four panels
intended to adorn the walls of an aristocratic residence or, more likely, a country house
or a factory, this reimagined landscape serves as a mise en abyme of an idle society’s
fascination with country outings. These young shepherdesses, marquises in disguise, herald
the fashion—imported from England, where the artist had stayed—for rustic hamlets such as
those of Sylvie in Chantilly or of Queen Marie-Antoinette in Versailles. Composed according to
symmetrical patterns in pastel tones against which the more vivid silhouettes
of the figures stand out, these panels form a decorative ensemble in perfect harmony with the
Rococo interiors of the reign of Louis XV.
Jean-François Ganif, known as ‘Clermont’ (1717–807), was a French painter, draughtsman and etcher.
Although little is known about his origins, Clermont exhibited his first works in Paris:
a Saint Sebastian in 1753 and a Holy Family at the Académie de Saint-Luc in 1756, followed, amongst
other paintings, by a large canvas depicting The Wrath of Achilles in 1762, the final year of
his stay in Paris. In the meantime, he travelled to England, where he remained for several years,
painting ceilings and decorative elements in buildings within the gardens, of which the panels shown above are a
perfect example. Among these prestigious works are a gallery for the Prince
of Wales at Kew, two temples on Monkey Island, near Windsor, for the Duke of Marlborough,
the ceiling of Lord Walpole’s Gothic library at Twickenham, the panels in the
dining room of Lord Strafford’s house in St James’s Square, modelled on Raphael’s loggias, and
a ceiling for Lord Northumberland at Sion. On his return to France, he was admitted in 1760 to
the Academy and appointed professor of drawing at the Academy of Reims, a post he held until
the school was closed during the Revolution. In 1795, he was appointed professor of drawing
at the new École centrale in Châlons. A skilled draughtsman who painted pastoral scenes in the
style of Boucher, Coypel and Lancret, Clermont was particularly sought after for his landscapes and
his exotic bestiary of birds and monkeys. He had a major influence on naturalistic
representation, thanks to the lifelike quality of his models. He produced many paintings of
interior scenes in Reims, and the city’s library holds a large number of his drawings.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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