CHARLES-LOUIS CLÉRISSEAU | Roman ruins with oriental staffage

Sale, Paris, Fountainbleau, Osenat, 21 December 2007, lot 26,
where acquired by the present owner

Moscow, The Pushkin State Museum of Fine Arts, The Golden Age of Architectural Graphic Art Drawings by European Masters of the 18th -19th Centuries from the Sergei Tchoban Collection, no. 21;
St. Petersburg, The State Hermitage Museum, Architectural Library, 2012, no. 38
Moscow, State Tretyakov Gallery, Only Italy! Architectural Graphic Art of the 18th and 21st Centuries, 2014, no. 20

Hinged to the mount at the upper margin. Overall in fairly good condition. There are areas of small losses where sheet as been rubbed/abraded, this is more noticeable at the left side of the sheet. There is a small nick/tear at the upper margin towards the right corner and the lower margin is of the sheet is uneven with small nicks and tears. Colours are still strong and vibrant, overall image is good.
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.

Clérisseau trained as an architect in Paris. In 1755 he went to Italy, where he taught, and was subsequently employed by, Robert Adam. He worked in Russia in the 1770s for Catherine the Great, and later went on to collaborate with Thomas Jefferson on the design of the Virginia State Capitol.  Robert Adam recorded that Clérisseau drew constantly.  He was particularly prolific during the 1760s and 'his ruins', as Adam referred to these drawings, were the means by which he made his living. This grand and impressive gouache is somewhat unusual for its inclusion of oriental staffage, which is rarely seen in Clérisseau's known depictions of Roman ruins.

For more on Clérisseau's relationship with Robert Adam and his drawings of Italy, see Thomas J. McCormick, Charles-Louis Clérisseau and the Genesis of Neo-Classicism, Cambridge, Mass., 1990, pp. 117-124.