Abraham-Louis-Rodolphe Ducros Moudon 1748 - 1810 Lausanne

Moudon 1748–1810 Lausanne



THE WATERFALL AT TIVOLI



signed and dated at lower center: Ducros 1783



oil on canvas



39 1/4 x 28 1/4 in.; 99.7 x 71.7 cm

(Anonymous sale, Koller, Zurich, September 22, 2006 , lot 3076)
Purchased at the above sale by the present owner

Relined. Painting is clean and presentable as is. There is an overall craquelure pattern visible to naked eye, however this is not too distracting. There is nice retention of the paint surface and detail in most of the water, in foreground and in the figures. Ultraviolet light reveals a large area of retouching in the sky at upper left, and in the waterfall and foliage at upper right. Other smaller retouches here and there in landscape and rocks and along upper edge. The "83" of the date appears to have been reinforced. In a carved and gilt wood frame.
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.

Abraham Ducros was one of the more sought after souvenir painters of his time. Born in Switzerland, he traveled to Italy in 1776 and spent the next thirty years of his life in Rome. Known for his depictions of waterfalls, particularly those at Tivoli, his work was written about in a number of articles from local journals and travel memoirs of the period. One reads, In the falls of the Anio, he has tried to express the movement the wind gives to the water as it falls and to the vapours which rise from it, and he has done so with great success (Memorie per le Belle Arti, Rome, I, 1785). In a letter to the Genevan naturalist Charles Bonnet (1783), the artist explains how he was more at ease when alone at Tivoli, being directly in touch with nature, than he was in the company of Pope Pius VI's courtiers. From 1780 onwards he worked with the engraver Giovanni Volpato (1732-1803), producing landscape views of Rome and its environs.