Jean-Siméon Chardin

Possibly Ropiquet;
By whom sold, Paris, November 20-21, 1840, lots 62, 63 (see note);
Possibly with Higgins, Paris, 1952 (see note);
Acquired by the family of the present owner, circa 1950.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting is in very good condition. The canvas has an old glue lining. The paint layer is stable yet noticeably dirty and it seems more than likely that the picture will clean beautifully. There do not appear to be any restorations that exist beneath the old varnish and while some slight thinness or wear may have developed in the darkest, thinnest colors, it seems unlikely. The condition of this painting is encouraging a full cleaning will most likely reveal a very healthy layer.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Far outside of the artist's normal production of sublime still lifes and narrative domestic scenes, this Singe Peintre (The Monkey Painter) and Singe Antiquaire (The Monkey Antiquarian) [see the following lot] are newly rediscovered masterpieces by Chardin, dating from very early in his career.  Although known in other versions, the manner in which they are painted suggests that they are the earliest known examples of the composition dating to the early 1720s, and thus probably Chardin's first.  Their reappearance represents an important addition to the artist's known oeuvre, and to his earliest chronology in particular.

Not normally given to satire, Chardin has depicted with great humour in these canvases two personalities with which he was extremely intimate: the artist and the antiquarian.  Their transformation by Chardin into capuchin monkeys has not diminished any of their natural gravitas.  The monkey connoisseur is shown as a great scholar, carefully examining an ancient coin or medal which he has selected from a specially made tray, comparing it to examples which he finds illustrated amongst his reference books, one of which is opened before him.  He is dressed nonchalantly in the loose fitting robe favored by gentlemen scholars at the time, and warms himself absentmindedly by a charcoal brazier.

The depiction of the Singe Peintre is perhaps more consciously self-deprecating on Chardin's part.  The monkey artist is much better dressed than the (presumably) wealthier collector; he wears a plumed hat and a large red velvet coat, trimmed with gold braid and buttons.  He sits before his easel, blocking in with a porte-crayon the composition of a painting (perhaps a portrait, and possibly a self portrait¹); he steadies his hand with a mahlstick and the easel with his foot.  The room contains much of the equipment that would have been in Chardin's own studio, including the plaster cast of a nude boy, a flask of turps, a portfolio of drawings, and a basin in which to wash his brushes.

The depiction of monkeys engaged in human activities did not originate with Chardin, but dated back to at least the middle ages, when apes were sometimes depicted in unsavory or base activities.  By the 17^th Century, artists such as David Teniers, the Younger, had developed the theme into a humorous sub-genre; monkeys were shown in a number of pursuits: playing cards, drinking, making music, cutting hair.  Chardin, in his familiarity with Dutch and Flemish Baroque paintings would certainly have known such pictures.  Perhaps a more compelling and immediate source of inspiration, however, was the vogue for singeries or decorations with monkey themes then quite strong in France.  These had first appeared in the late 17^th century in the designs of Jean Berain, and had grown in popularity in the new century.  The closest parallel, particularly for the Singe Peintre, was a painting by Antoine Watteau of the same subject, now lost, but known from an engraving (see fig. 1).  Watteau's painting, conceived as an oval like the present examples, was a likely pendant to his Monkey Sculptor, now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Orléans.  The Watteau paintings would appear to date to about 1710 and were engraved by Louis Desplaces.

As with many of his other paintings, Chardin returned to compositions of the Singe Peintre and the Singe Antiquaire throughout his career.  A number of other versions exist and are recorded, of differing sizes and formats, but fairly closely aligned in details.  There are, for example, two in the Louvre, Paris (inv. 3206); however, although they have been treated as such in the past, they are clearly not a pair.  The Louvre Singe Antiquaire is significantly larger than their Peintre, and if that were not enough to raise questions, it is also within an inscribed oval, like the present work, while the Peintre is not².  Among the most beautiful examples are two small versions in the Musée des Beaux-Arts, Chartres, both signed along the top edge of the canvas.  Chardin showed two such paintings in the Salon of 1740, where they are described as "Le singe de la philosophie" and "Un singe qui peint."  Three years later, these paintings were engraved by Pierre-Louis Surugue³ (see figs 2-3), with the following verses appended by the writer Charles-Etienne Pesselier, who was an intimate of Chardin's:

Le Singe Antiquaire:
Dans le Dédale obscur de monuments Antiques
Homme Docte, à grands frais, pourquoi t'embarrasser?
Notre siècle à deus yeux vrayment philosophiques,
Offre assez de quoi s'exercer.⁴

Le Singe Peintre:
Le Singe, Imitateur exact ou peu fidèle,
Est un Animal fort commun
Et tel homme icy bas est le peintre de l'un
Qui sert à l'autre de modèle.⁵

The verses make clear the meaning of Chardin's commentary, even if seen through his poetic friend's eyes.  The collector, particularly the collector of antiquities, is buried in the past, and needs to look to the modern world (and presumably to modern art in particular) to occupy his thoughts.  The painter is a mimic, particularly if he derives his models from other artists rather than nature.  Such sentiments seem consistent with Chardin's own philosophy, particularly about the use of nature as a source for inspiration.

The Surugue prints also give a further clue to the history of these two compositions: the print of the Singe Peintre is dated 1726, quite early in the artist's career.  Of the versions that are extant, most would appear to be later than this.  The pair of pictures in Chartres can be dated to 1735-40; the Louvre Peintre may indeed be one of the two pictures shown at the Salon of 1740.⁶  It is the Louvre Antiquaire, however, which is among the earliest of the versions.  It is painted in a much looser style than is usual for Chardin, and it appears to be an early work, probably from circa 1726 as suggested by the Surugue print.  The present pair, however, appear to be even earlier than the Louvre picture, and almost certainly represent Chardin's first production of this amusing subject.

Although the earliest provenance of the paintings is unclear, it seems that these pictures were with the dealer Higgins in Paris in 1952; certainly the measurements of the pictures are almost exact, and correspond more closely than any of the other known versions.  The Higgins pictures were said to have been in the Ropiquet collection, but are listed when they were sold without dimensions (Sale: Paris, 20-21 November, 1840, lots 62-63).

 

1  In the other versions of the composition, the monkey is clearly painting another monkey or himself, thus giving weight to the significance of the verses attached to the 1740 print (see note).  In the present work, however, this is not as clear and in fact it seems as if he might be painting the sculpture which is situated just next to his easel, thus making him—like Chardin—a still life painter.

2  Nor do they share the same provenance: the Peintre came from the La Caze collection in 1860, while the Antiquaire belonged to the singer Barroihet before 1848 (see P. Rosenberg, 1979 op. cit., p. 223).

3  Rosenberg has noted that the paintings shown in the sale of 1740 are almost certainly the paintings engraved by Surugue in 1743, and probably those that remained in the collection of the artist until his death.

4  [Trans: "In the shadowy maze of ancient monuments/ Learned man, why bother yourself at such great expense?/  Our century, to truly philosophical eyes/ offers enough to learn about."]

5  [Trans: "The monkey, a mimic exact or less true/ is a very ordinary creature/ And such a man on earth is the painter of one/ who serves the other as a model.']

6  P. Rosenberg, 1979 op. cit., p. 224.