Jean-Jacques Spoede (1680-1757) - Lot 39

Jean-Jacques Spoede (1680-1757) The art dealer Sanguine drawing on laid paper 36 x 23 cm. Framed This charged portrait depicts Nicolas Bolureau, member of the Académie de Saint-Luc, painter and art dealer, who ran a shop in the cloister of Saint-Germain-l'Auxerrois until his death in 1745. But more than a character, it's a profession that Spoede attempts to embody here. Abandoning the rococo bacchanals and genre scenes of which he was a specialist, the Antwerp-born artist adopts a realistic style, close to the contemporary works of Hallé or Pierre. Our portrait even tends towards caricature, which was very successful at the time, in England with Hogarth and in Italy with Ghezzi. This portrait was a great success, not least thanks to the engraving made of it in 1743 by Guelard. Several painted copies were made in the 18th century, one of which is in the Musée d'Orleans. We know of two sanguines, probably autographs. One with the letter of the engraving, presented by the Mercier - Duchemin - Chanoit gallery in 1995, and this one, closer to the engraved image.