Lot 88
  • 88

Claude-Louis Châtelet

Estimate
7,000 - 9,000 GBP
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Description

  • Claude-Louis Châtelet
  • The Hermitage of Tropea, Calabria
  • Pen and black ink and watercolour over pencil;
    bears numbering, lower centre: 144
    and bears attribution and inscription, verso: Claude Louis Chatelet/1753-1794./ Chatelet Vue du Chateau ou Hermitage de Tropaea, situé/dans la Calbrie Ulterieure/gravé dans St Non. Naples et Sicile. 1783. vol III no 175 (Grande/Grèce) p. 136.

Provenance

Sale, London, Robinson and Fisher, June 1926 (information from the Oppé inventory)

Exhibited

London, Royal Academy, Landscapes in French Art, 1950, no. 382
London, Royal Academy, The Paul Oppé Collection, 1958, no. 348

Condition

Laid down on paper. There is some surface dirt to the extremities of the sheet. Otherwise in very good condition, with the medium fresh and vibrant throughout.
"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

ENGRAVED:
In aquatint by C.G. Guttenberg for the Abbé de Saint-Non, Voyage pittoresque, ou description des royaumes de Naples et de Sicile, 1785, vol. III, pl. 75 (fig. 1)

This view of the Hermitage of Tropea, the rocky outcrop on the coast of Calabria, was executed by Châtelet between 1780 and 1781 during his trip to Italy in the company of Louis-Jean Desprez and Dominique Vivant-Denon.  This and other landscape illustrations by the artist were commissioned for the Abbé de Saint-Non’s travel book Voyage pittoresque, ou description des royaumes de Naples et de Sicile, published in five volumes between 1781 and 1786.  Along with Desprez, Châtelet was responsible for the largest number of the illustrations, and these drawings were to be the artist’s most important commission during his lifetime.