Maurice-Quentin de la Tour Saint-Quentin 1704 - 1788

Given to Rousseau by La Tour before 16 December 1764;
probably given by Rousseau to Mme. Delessert, née Madeleine-Catherine Boy de La Tour, daughter of Rousseau's friend Mme. Boy de La Tour-Roguin, in 1776;
by descent to her daughter, Marguerite-Madeleine, Mme. J.-A. Gautier;
to her daughter Sophie, Mme. François-Marie Delessert;
1868, to her daughter, Baronne Bartholdi, her estate sale, Paris, 13 May 1911, lot 5, bought by
Marius Paulme, his sale, Paris, Georges Petit, 13 May 1929, lot 120 (to Martinet of Geneva)

Exposition des Alsaciens-Lorrains, 1874, no. 881;
Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Quentin de La Tour et des Pastellistes français des XVII^e et XVIII^e siècles, 1927, no. 53, reproduced (catalogue by Emile Dacier and Paul Ratouis de Limay)

Catalogue de la Collection de M. François Delessert, 1844, no. 99;
Notice sur la Collection de tableaux de M. Delessert, 1846, under no. 97;
A.Besnard and G. Wildenstein, La Tour, La Vie et L'Oeuvre de l'Artiste, Paris 1928, p. 164, no. 439, reproduced fig.63;
R. Loche, Catalogue raisonné des peintures et pastels...du Musée d'Art et d'Histoire de Genève, Geneva 1996, pp. 447-48, fig. 2;
C. Debrie and X. Salmon, Maurice-Quentin de La Tour, Paris 2000, p. 181, and p. 216, note 32;
N. Jeffares, Dictionary of Pastellists before 1800, London 2006, p. 303, reproduced

 

 

The condition is very good. Sold in an elaborate carved and gilded frame. Not taken out of the frame. The upper and lower margins are slightly disrupted, possible due to the pastel being attached to a stretcher. There is a very small hole at the upper left, and three other pin-prick holes to the lower right, although all of these are barely noticeable. In all cases the image is not in any way disturbed.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

La Tour sent this portrait to Rousseau who was delighted to receive it as he had given an earlier version to the Marechal de Luxembourg.  He wrote to La Tour on 14 October 1764 to thank him for the gift and arrange its shipment to Switzerland, and said 'It will never leave me, Monsieur...it will be before my eyes every day of my life;  it will speak unceasingly to my heart... and remind me always of our friendship...'.¹  It seems, however, that Rousseau did in fact give it away, in 1776, to a close friend, in whose family it remained until 1911.

La Tour's first portrait of Rousseau was exhibited at the Salon of 1753, where it surprised many contemporaries in its presentation of the philosopher in a relaxed and amiable mode and seated on a straw chair (this seems now to be known only through an engraving).²  Besnard and Wildenstein reprint many of the comments on this work, including a rather acerbic one by Diderot.³

The present composition exists in several autograph versions, including one, from the artist's studio, now in the Museum in Saint-Quentin.  It has become one of the classic images of the great philosopher.

1. A. Bury, Maurice-Quentin de La Tour, London 1971, note to pl. 23

2. See Besnard and Wildenstein, op. cit., fig. 255

3. op. cit., pp. 56-57