Lot 147
  • 147

Frederik Hendrik Kaemmerer

Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 GBP
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Description

  • Frederik Hendrik Kaemmerer
  • Une ascension en l'an VIII
  • signed F.H. KAEMMERER. 1880 lower right
  • oil on canvas
  • 181 by 100.5cm., 71¼ by 39½in.

Provenance

Goupil & Cie., Paris
Natalie R. Clarke
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, 29 February 1984, lot 92
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Exhibited

Paris, Salon, 1880, no. 1995

Condition

The canvas has been re-lined. There are a few scattered minor spots of retouching visible under ultraviolet light, notably to the sky and to a spot at the lower left. Apart from scattered fine craquelure and two very minor flecks of paint loss to the upper centre, this work is in very good condition, with fine detail and rich colours, and ready to hang. Held in a decorative, gold-painted moulded plaster and wood frame with a name plate.
"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."

Catalogue Note

Year VIII was the year 1799 under the French Republican Calendar. Kaemmerer depicts an animated scene, the figures in their Directoire costumes, as a balloon lifts off. These were the pioneering days: the first manned hot air balloon had taken flight sixteen years earlier, in 1783, when Jean-François Rozière and François Laurent had made the first official manned flight across Paris in a balloon built by the brothers Joseph and Étienne Montgolfier. In 1785 Jean Pierre Blanchard, a Frenchman, and the American John Jeffries crossed the English Channel in a balloon, barely escaping falling into the ocean by throwing equipment and even clothing overboard.