- 145
Louis-Jean Desprez
Description
- Louis-Jean Desprez
- a night-time ceremony before the temple of isis, pompeii
- Pen and black ink and grey-brown wash, within a black wash border;
the old mount, attached to front of drawing, bears inscription in brown ink: Temple d'Isia à Pompeii tel qu'il devoit être en l'Anée 79, lorsqu'il a été dêtruit par léruption du Vesuve; / et rétabli d'après et suivant ce qui en existe encore aujourd'hui par Desprez Architecte Pensionnaire di Roi à l'Academie de France à Rome. / a Rome.;
bears numbering and inscription in red and black chalk, verso: 426 / b- ...avec la gravure
Condition
"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
On winning the Prix de Rome in 1776, Desprez left his native France for Italy, where he arrived the following year. Soon after his arrival in Rome, he was invited by the Abbé de Saint Non to travel to southern Italy, to prepare illustrations for his Voyage pittoresque, ou description des royaumes de Naples et de Sicile. Working alongside Charles-Louis Châtelet, Desprez produced a great number of topographical drawings and watercolours of Naples, Pozzuoli, Pompeii and the surrounding area, which were then engraved for publication.
On his return to Rome in 1779 this material provided a further source of income for the artist, when he entered into an arrangement with Francesco Piranesi, son of Giovanni Battista, to produce a series of hand-coloured etchings of views of Naples and Rome. They published a prospectus in July 1783 listing, among others, nineteen large views of Rome, Naples and Pompeii.1
The present drawing, intended for an etching entitled Temple d'Isis restauré avec les fonctions sacerdotales dans le moment que le lave couvrit le temple, produisant un bel effet, is one of eight Pompeian designs for the series, of which only two were engraved, and for which only one other preparatory drawing is known: the Vue intérieure de la ville.2
1. See M. Olausson, 'Desprez et Piranèse fils: de l'original à la reproduction' in La Chimère de Monsieur Desprez, exhibition catalogue, Paris, Musée du Louvre, 1994, p. 50
2. Ibid., pp. 47-8