Old Masters Day Sale, including portrait miniatures
Old Masters Day Sale, including portrait miniatures
The Property of a Private Collector
Charles Bouillon
Trompe l'œil still life of letters, sheet music, an engraving, a drawing and writing implements affixed to a wooden board
Lot Closed
December 8, 02:36 PM GMT
Estimate
40,000 - 60,000 GBP
Lot Details
Description
The Property of a Private Collector
Charles Bouillon
active Paris 1705 - 1707
Trompe l'œil still life of letters, sheet music, an engraving, a drawing and writing implements affixed to a wooden board
signed and dated on the engraving upper left: Bouillon flamant 1705
dedicated on the letter upper right: A Monsieur / Monsieur Deliou / à Toulouse
oil on canvas
unframed: 91 x 125 cm.; 35⅞ x 49⅛ in.
framed: 108.5 x 140.4 cm.; 42¾ x 55½ in.
Thence by inheritance to his nephew, Juan de Beistegui (1930–2017);
By whom sold, Montfort l'Amaury, Château de Groussay (auction on the premises), Sotheby's and Poulain Le Fur, 2 June 1999, lot 184;
Where acquired by the present owner.
Very little is known about this artist who is likely to have originated from Flanders as his distinct signature 'Bouillon Flamant' suggests. He possibly moved to Paris at the beginning of the 18th century and may have been related to one of the several painters with the same surname recorded in the guilds of Brussels and Tournai.1
Only three other works by this artist are known; the first is a trompe l'œil signed and dated 'Bouillon/Flammant, 1704', in a private collection, Paris; the second is a trompe l’œil of a collector's study signed and dated 'Boüillon Fecit / 1707', sold in 2016; and the third is a still life depicting an array of silver objects, signed and dated 1707 in the Musée des Arts Decoratifs, in Paris.2
This work was once in the collection of Charles de Bestegui, the French-born Mexican socialite and art collector. He is known for having purchased and enlarged the Château de Groussay in 1938 with the professional help of Emilio Terry, Alexandre Serebriakoff and architects Desbrosses and Costi. The result was a masterpiece in interior decoration, inspired by the opulence of 18th-century France. Following Beistegui's death in 1970, the Château passed onto his brother, and finally to his nephew, who sold its contents (including this work) through Sotheby's in 1999.
1 A. Willigen and F. Meijer, A Dictionary of Dutch and Flemish Still-Life Painters working in Oils, 1525–1725, Leiden 2003, p. 47.
2 Willigen and Meijer 2003, p. 47; https://www.christies.com/en/lot/lot-6028799