Alexandre Evariste Fragonard (Grasse 1780-1850 Paris) - Lot 13

Alexandre Evariste Fragonard (Grasse 1780-1850 Paris) Portrait of the engraver Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Jorand (1788-1850), Fragonard's close collaborator Brown wash and white gouache over graphite on paper, tondo format 248 mm. diameter Signed and dated lower right: Fragonard 1811 Provenance : - collection of a French aristocratic family until the early 21st century - private collection, France Bibliography : - Unpublished Related work : - Théophile Fragonard (1806-1876) Portrait of Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Jorand (1788-1850), circa 1830, lithograph, private collection, current location unknown (cited by Mme Rebecca Duffeix). The discovery of this remarkable pre-romantic portrait illustrates the friendship between these two artists who, in 1811, collaborated on the publication of the "Recueil des peintures et sculptures faites au Corps Législatif". This institution, the forerunner of our National Assembly, had benefited from major renovation work under the direction of architect Bernard Poyet, with which Fragonard was amply associated, notably by delivering drawings for sculpted bas-reliefs (Paris, Fondation Napoléon, inv. 413, 763, 768, 855), placed under the portico, all of which were destroyed during the Restoration. In his "Recueil des peintures et sculptures faites au Corps Législatif", Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Jorand translated into 24 engraved plates all the contributions of his friend Fragonard to the sumptuous decoration of this official place. Six issues were to be published, but for some unknown reason, only four actually saw the light of day (a partial copy preserved at the Bibliothèque Nationale de France, inv. PET FOL-HD-19). On the horizon appears the Austerlitz column (the "Vendôme column"), inaugurated the previous year. We would like to thank Ms. Rebecca Duffeix, a specialist in the work of Alexandre Evariste Fragonard, for kindly confirming the attribution of our drawing and informing us of the identity of the model.