Lot n° 103
Estimation :
4000 - 6000
EUR
Two-body walnut cabinet. The upper body is crowned by a two- - Lot 103
Two-body walnut cabinet. The upper body is crowned by a two-sloped pediment interrupted by an empty niche and resting on a frieze carved with two figures separated by a marble cartouche. It opens to two leaves carved in an oval medallion with allegories of Autumn and Spring in the middle of a panel decorated with garlands and chimeras leaning against two cartouches carved with elongated female figures. The uprights simulate fluted columns with ivy leaves at the base.
The projecting lower carcase opens with two panels carved with allegories of Summer and Winter in two oval medallions, and a drawer in the waistband carved with an elongated female figure and flanked by two marble plaques. Oval medallions carved with eagles and swans flank marble plaques on the jambs of the lower body.
19th century, attributed to Alexandre-Georges Fourdinois (1799-1871)
H. 230cm - W 106 cm - D 37.5 cm
This two-body cabinet is a remake of a Renaissance piece, made in the 1st quarter of the 17th century, now in the Louvre Museum (inventory no. OA 6970). The House of Fourdinois is very important not only for the history of 19th-century cabinetmaking, but also for the history of taste at the time, which was characterized by "neo-styles". In just two generations, Alexandre-Georges Fourdinois (1799-1871) and Henri-Auguste (1830-1907) the son, the House of Fourdinois enjoyed numerous successes at the Universal Exhibitions, becoming the benchmark in luxury cabinetmaking for the clientele of the lavish Second Empire.
The portraits of the eleven Caesars were executed in 1536 by the renowned Venetian painter Titian, and commissioned by Duke Federico II for the Ducal Palace in Mantua. This series of portraits was inspired by the biography of the twelve Caesars written by the Roman historian Suetonius in the early 2nd century. Titian had not painted the twelfth portrait, which was added by Giulio Romano, painter emeritus of the Ducal Palace of Mantua. In 1561, these twelve portraits were copied by Bernardino Campi, an Italian Mannerist painter, for the governor of Milan, Duke Francisco Fernandez de Avalos. In 1568, Ippolito Andreasi, known as the Andreasino, copied Titian's eleven original Caesars for Jacopo Strada, a multi-talented Renaissance artist. These twelve portraits were engraved by Aegidius Sadeler II, the great Flemish engraver, and published around 1625. Marcus Saledeler republished the twelve portraits of the emperors, accompanied by portraits of their empresses after the painter Giulio Romano. In 1628, the art collection of the House of Gonzaga, including the twelve portraits by Titian, was sold by Duke Vincenzo II to the then King of England Charles I. After Charles I's execution, the Commonwealth of England was established, and the art collection was divided up and sold at auction. Titian's paintings were sold for £1,200 at the time, equivalent today to £22,584 (26,811 euros). The buyer was the Spanish ambassador Alonso de Cardenas, acting agent for Luis Mendez de Haro, who held the title of Lord Protector of England. The latter offered the works to King Filipe IV of Spain, who hung them in Madrid's Royal Alcazar. In 1734, a terrible fire destroyed the palace and its many masterpieces, including the twelve Caesars. The engravings by Aegidius and Marcus Sadeler are the only surviving evidence of Titian's work.
The two panels we are selling today are freely inspired by engravings taken from Titian's works.
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