Alexandre-François Desportes

A l'oeil nu, le tableau est dans un état de conservation relativement satisfaisant. On remarque les coutures de toile correspondant au format d'origine de l'oeuvre d'Alexandre François Desportes et l'agrandissement réalisé par l'atelier. Quelques restaurations visibles au niveau des coutures sur les quatre côtés. Le tableau a fait l'objet d'un réentoilage au milieu du XXe siècle, correctement réalisé, qui n'a pas tassé la matière. On constate un réseau de craquelures un peu visible dans les parties sombres. Le tableau a une très belle matière, parfaitement préservée. On voit quelques petits manques de matières vers le bord supérieur. A la lampe UV : On constate quelques restaurations le long des coutures déjà signalées. Plusieurs restaurations dans le coin inférieur droit et dans les chiens peints par l'atelier. Plusieurs restaurations dans l'arbre du coin supérieur gauche (également peint par l'atelier). To the naked eye, the painting is in a reasonably good condition. We can see stitches showing the original size of the canvas and its enlargement made by the workshop. Few restorations can be seen along the stitches. The painting has been relined in the middle of the XXth century in a good way that did not flattened the painted surface. We can see a network of cracks in the darker areas. The painting has a nice painted surface, perfectly well preserved. Few very tiny lacks around the upper edge. Under the UV light : we can see some restorations along the already mentioned stitches. Few restorations in the lower right corner and in the dogs painted by the workshop and in the tree also painted by the workshop.
"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."

The composition of this impressive stag hunt is similar to a work on paper by Desportes and a preparatory for an important commission from the Grand Dauphin for his Château at Meudon. However, if the final painting from the Château de Meudon¹, now in the collections of the Besançon Museum of Fine Arts, France, is of the same sentiment as ours, it is nevertheless in a height-wise format. Realized in 1702 for the Grand Dauphin, this dynamic scene of stag pursuit must have pleased the painter, since he seemed to have reemployed a few variants thereafter. Thus, a composition was discovered during the auction of the Louis Grandchamp des Raux collection in March 2015 in Paris, similar to the presented work². They comparably reveal a stag attacked by dogs in a length-wise format and with the same dimensions as our canvas, before ours was elongated. Indeed, if our canvas was fully realized by Desportes in its central part, and even signed by him in the same place as on that of the 2015 auction, one clearly perceives the enlargements by the studio, probably to meet the client’s need to integrate the paintings in a decor. The palette is quite akin. The stroke remaining delicate in the enlarged section obviously suggests that the maneuver was actually contemporary, and by the studio, which came closest to this middle part entirely by the master and in this beautiful workmanship during his full maturity.

1. P. Jacky, Desportes catalogue raisonné, vol. II, Saint-Remy-en-l'Eau, 2010, P. 396 and P. 397.2
2. Sotheby's Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Collection Louis Grandchamp des Raux, March 26, 2015, No. 19