Abraham-Louis-Rodolphe Ducros

Anonymous sale, Zurich, Koller, 22 September 2006, lot 3076;
Where acquired by the present owner.

The canvas is lined. The painting presents a lovely landscape with some of the details well preserved as seen with the waterfalls and figures. There is some minor craquelure, for example on the sky at top left but this is not too distracting. Some tiny pin dots of loss are barely noticeable on the rocks at center left and right. Small spots of discoloring are visible on the ground at bottom center, which appear to have been old fills that addressed areas of loss. Under the inspection of UV two concentrated spots of retouching, which possibly address old repairs, fluoresce on the on the sky at top left and on the waterfall at top right. Further spots of retouches are scattered here and there. The painting can hang in its present state and is offered in a carved gilded 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. 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."

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.