Lot n° 300
Estimation :
6000 - 8000
EUR
Result with fees
Result
: 7 540EUR
Jacques-Augustin-Catherine Pajou (Paris 1766 - 1828 Paris) - Lot 300
Jacques-Augustin-Catherine Pajou (Paris 1766 - 1828 Paris)
Bust portrait of Jean-Baptiste Say (1767-1832)
Oil on canvas, oval format 63.5 x 53.5 cm.
Signed and dated lower left: Pajou / An 6
On the back, a handwritten label, probably dating from the late 19th century, specifying the identity of the model, and the words: appartient à Monsieur Raoul-Duval.
Provenance:
- Most likely bequeathed by the model to his daughter Octavie (1804- 1865), wife of Charles Raoul-Duval (1807-1893),
- then, by descent, to their first son, Edgar Raoul-Duval (1832- 1887),
- then, by descent, to his third son, Edmond Raoul-Duval (1862-1932),
- then, presumably by descent, until 2022,
- private collection, Paris
Born into a Huguenot family involved in silk trading in Lyon,
Say entered the service of Étienne Clavière (1735-1789), a Genevan banker and insurer, in 1788. Very close to his employer, he frequented Mirabeau and the Girondins, and became familiar with the ideas of Adam Smith. During the Revolution, Clavière twice became Minister of Finance (1792 and 1793), but was suspected of embezzlement and corruption, and committed suicide. In response, Say put his writing talents to work for La Décade philosophique, a journal newly created by Guiguené and Chamfort. This is the context of our portrait, which shows him dressed casually, collar open, a paperback in hand, looking pensive.
He later joined the Tribunat, where he sat on the financial section, and published his famous "Traité d'économie politique" in 1803. A liberal and political opponent of Bonaparte, opposed to the re-establishment of slavery, he embarked on an entrepreneurial adventure in 1804, producing cotton. The Restoration and the end of his persecution by Bonaparte enabled him to teach his theories (notably at the future ESCP business school, where he was a member of the Board of Governors) and to gain notoriety, to the point where he is considered today as France's leading classical economist.
On May 25, 1793, Say married Julie Gourdel-Deloche (1767- 1830), who was also the model for a portrait of Pajou, our counterpart (Coutau-Bégarie sale, October 25, 2022, lot 293, current location unknown).
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