Charles-François Grenier de Lacroix, dit Lacroix de Marseille

Anonymous sale, Palais Galliera, Paris, 16-27 June 1967, lots 202 and 203;

With New House Gallery, New York;

Dr. Daniel McLean McDonald;

His deceased sale, Christie's, London, 11 December 1992, lot 36;

With Richard Green, London;

Acquired from the above by Dimitri Mavrommatis, London;

By whom sold (Property from the London Residence of Dimitri Mavrommatis), Sotheby's, London, 5 December 2007, lot 67;

Where acquired by the present owner.

London, Leggatt Brothers, An exhibition of paintings from the collection of Dr. D.M. McDonald, 16 October - 6 November 1970, nos. 17 and 18.

On a calm sea, gently lit by a slightly veiled sun, a small boat in the foreground seems to be approaching the shore, while a group of figures with a dog are quietly conversing on the rocks at the foot of two tree trunks bent over by the wind. Behind them, a fire smokes beneath a brick tower decorated with a classical frieze and topped with a bell.

In this composition, Lacroix de Marseille plays with the effects of light over an idealized landscape, combining classical ruins with nature and using figures to animate the peaceful scene. The pendant displays the same poetic quality, typical of the artist: a group of figures dance in front of the entrance to a cave, opening out onto a calm sea, in the warm tones of the setting sun in late afternoon.

Lacroix de Marseille is documented in Rome from 1750, and it was probably there that he met Vernet, some of whose works he copied in his youth before branching away to define his own style. He put together a repertoire of motifs that can be found in several of his works: the trees twisted by the wind, for instance, recur particularly in works of the 1770s, while the boat and its red pennant, visible in the first composition, also appear in A harbour view at dawn sold at Sotheby’s in 2018 (Sotheby’s, New York, 1 February 2018, lot 639).

Lacroix de Marseille also produced several versions of the Couple dancing in front of a cave, a few years apart: the earliest known is dated 1764 (Sotheby’s, London, 5 July 2005, lot 13, sold for £130,000). The present version, datable by its pendant to 1767, seems to be the second. Lacroix de Marseille would return to this same composition in 1770 (Sotheby’s, Monaco, 15–16 June 1990, lot 294) and 1776 (Sotheby’s, London, 8 March 1972, lot 72).

This composition has captivated several illustrious collectors, including Bobby Wills, whose collection was sold by Sotheby’s in 2005, as well as Dimitri Mavrommatis, the previous owner of the present paintings. Lacroix de Marseille has here shown his perfect mastery of composition and has flawlessly rendered the light effects over an idealized natural landscape with Roman accents.