One of the most rewarding aspects from all the time it takes to develop and update this Artists and Ancestors website, is contact with other collectors and researchers from all over the world who are interested in portrait miniatures.Sometimes it is possible to help other researchers with their own projects, which is just as rewarding as undertaking my own research.
During 2007, it was possible to make contact with Nathalie Lemoine-Bouchard, the author of the book "Les Peintres en Miniature" which I previewed at April - New Dictionary of French Miniature Painters
A copy of the book purchased direct from France has now reached me and so it is possible to see the superb quality of her scholarship and realise how much effort went into the book. It sets a very high standard for other authors on the subject.
A major criteria for the book was that only signed miniature portraits were included. This sensible step avoided potential debate over attributions and so makes the published images even more important for reference purposes.
Also gratifying was the opportunity to see which of the signed miniatures sent to Nathalie from this collection have been included in the book. In total, twenty-two are mentioned, with nineteen of them accompanied by photographs. There are also eleven miniatures from Une Collection Francaise and two from the Guest Gallery.
To have miniatures mentioned in the book is quite an honour in itself, but their publication also illustrates the research benefits of collecting miniatures by lesser artists, even if they are damaged.
For major artists, such as this miniature by Charles Bourgeios, there are usually comprehensive lists of their work and so many examples that can be used to illustrate an important reference book such as this.
However, for the minor artists it is much harder to locate representative examples.Sometimes the only known examples are cracked or have paint flaking off, such as this example by N Freund.
Thus this collection is represented in the book by a few important artists, as well as by a number of minor artists, several of which are represented by cracked miniatures.
Naturally, being included in the literature makes a miniature more interesting. Thus collectors can see that damaged miniatures need not be rejected completely.
The twenty-two miniatures in this Artists and Ancestors collection which are included in the book are as below. They are all accompanied by images apart from the R de Beaux, the Brunet, and the Soiron.
Click on each View link to see the miniature and the listing in the book.
Page - Artist - Sitter - Link
081 - Beaux, R de - Duc d'Orleans - View
088 - Berjon, Antoine - A man - View
111 - Bossi, Domenico - Baroness Neuwall - View
119 - Bourgeios, Charles - A young man - View
130 - Brunet - An officer dated 1836 - View
144 - Cataneo, Michele - Charles Nollet - View
157 - Chatillon, J B - A man - View
182 - Decourcelle, Jean - A baby - View
188 - Delatour, Alexandre - A lady - View
209 - Dufaix - Comte Bouthier de Pennovere - View
245 - Freund, N - A man - View
261 - Gobert, Antoine - A young girl - View
287 - Hertrich, Heinrich - A man - View
287 - Hertrich, Heinrich - A lady - View
337 - Leclercq, Marie - A man - View
337 - Leclercq, Marie - A lady - View
342 - Legenvre - A lady - View
411 - Paul, S - Mrs Carter - View
427 - Pouell - A man - View
449 - Rouvier, Pierre - A young royalist - View
471 - Soiron, Jean-Francois - Joseph Chinard - View
523 - Vibert, Auguste - A man - View
In addition eleven miniatures in Une Collection Francaise are either illustrated or mentioned in the book:
071 - Barlet - A man - View
104 - Boissier - A lady - View
114 - Boudin - A lady - View
155 - Chasselet - Jean Allut - View
156 - Chateaubourg - A lady - View
192 - Deranton - A man - View
233 - Ferry - A lady - View
397 - Muneret - General Augereaux - View
488 - Tourcaty - A lady - View
476 - Strasbaux - A man - View
535 - Weise - An officer - View
Further two miniatures owned by a Dutch collector and which are in the Guest Gallery are also in the book:
094 - Bertrand - A lady - View
483 - Thibaut - Marie-Antoinette Robin - View
No comments:
Post a Comment