Fragonard

1. Portrait of Louis IX, also called Saint-Louis

Pastel on blue paper.
223 x 180 mm

2. Portrait of Marguerite de Provence

Pastel on blue paper.
205 x 163 mm

3. Portrait of Louis I, duc de Bourbon

Pastel on blue paper, oval.
232 x 185 mm

4. Portrait of Louis II, duc de Bourbon

Pastel on blue paper, oval.
290 x 232 mm

5. Portrait of Blanche de Bourbon

Pastel on blue paper, oval.
281 x 229 mm

6. Portrait of Jean I de Bourbon

Pastel on blue paper, oval.
254 x 197 mm (10 x 7 ³/₄ in.)

7. Portrait of Pierre II de Beaujeu, duc de Bourbon

Pastel on blue paper, oval.
290 x 236 mm

8. Portrait of Pierre du Terrail, also called Chevalier Bayard

Pastel on blue paper.
268 x 214 mm

9. Portrait of Charles III de Bourbon, also called le connétable de Bourbon

Pastel on blue paper, oval.
290 x 225 mm

10. Portrait of Charles de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme

Pastel on blue paper, oval.
290 x 225 mm

11. Portrait of Antoine de Bourbon, roi de Navarre

Pastel on blue paper, oval.
298 x 231 mm

12. Portrait of François de Bourbon, comte d’Enghien

Pastel on blue paper, oval.
292 x 232 mm.

13. Portrait of Jeanne d’Albret

Pastel on blue paper, oval.
290 x 231 mm

14. Portrait of Louis I de Bourbon, prince de Condé

Pastel on blue paper, oval.
290 x 232 mm

Provenance

Possibly Étienne Alexandre Jacques Anisson called Anisson du Perron (1749 – 1794), director of the French royal printworks; possibly his sale 10 September 1795, with several other drawings, perhaps divided between lot 2: “Collection de soixante-quatre Dessins représentant les faits historiques de la maison de Bourbon […] ; la plupart des portraits sont dessinés d’après les tableaux et monumens du temps, par Fragonard et Vincent [Collection of 64 drawings of the historical actions of the house of Bourbon […]; mostly portraits drawn after paintings and monuments of the time, by Fragonard and Vincent]” and lot 4 “Neuf Portraits d’hommes & femmes, dessinés au crayons noir & blanc par Fragonard & Vincent. Ils étoient pareillement destinés à orner l’édition de la maison de Bourbon [9 Portraits of men & women, drawn in black and white chalk by Fragonard & Vincent. They were similarly intended to decorate the publication of the house of Bourbon]”. Pierre-Michel Lamy, his sale January- April 1808, lot 5225: “Vingt-cinq dessins de Boucher et de Fragonard pour le même ouvrage, en un vol. in-fol. mar. vert, tabis, dent. Les dessins de Fragonard, au nombre de 21, sont de très beaux portraits au crayons, noir et blanc, des divers princes de la maison de Bourbon. Ils sont d’une proportion beaucoup plus grande que les gravures qui en ont été faites [25 drawings by Boucher and Fragonard, 21 in number are very beautiful portraits in black and white chalks of the various princes of the house of Bourbon. They are a much larger size than the prints that were made from them].”¹  Jérôme Bignon Collection; his sale 4 December 1848 where they are attributed to Évariste Fragonard, without reference to Désormeaux’s publication: “Dix-neuf dessins au crayon noir, rehaussé de blanc, sur papier bleu. Plusieurs par Fragonard fils, représentant Saint Louis, Bayard, et des princes et princesses du sang des Bourbons sous Henri IV. Un vol. in-fol., maroquin vert dentelle, doublé de tapis, aux armes de France avec étui [19 drawings in black chalk, highlighted with white, on blue paper. Several by Fragonard the son, showing Saint Louis, Bayard, and princes and princesses of the Bourbon blood under Henri IV. One vol. in-fol., green morocco laced, lined with baize with the arms of France and in a case]”. The 14 drawings, placed in individual protective folios at the time, were acquired by a private collector. The Portrait of Jean I^er de Bourbon acquired by Jean-Luc Baroni and Marty de Cambiaire. The entire group was acquired by the Louvre on 12 February 2020.

¹ We are grateful to Neil Jeffares for providing this reference.

Bibliography of the series

Marie-Anne Dupuy-Vachey “Every possible combination” in Perrin Stein, Fragonard Drawing Triumphant. Works from New York collections, New York, Metropolitan museum of Art, 2016, p. 44-45; Marie-Anne Dupuy-Vachey, “Fragonard et le pastel. Nouvelles contributions à la connaissance du portraitiste”, Revue de l’art, n° 205-2019-3, p. 61-73; Neil Jeffares, Dictionary of pastellists before 1800, online edition, updated 9 January 2020, under the article Fragonard, as “intermediate works by whatever hands”.

1. Portrait of Louis IX, also called Saint-Louis

Pastel on blue paper.
223 x 180 mm

2. Portrait of Marguerite de Provence

Pastel on blue paper.
205 x 163 mm

3. Portrait of Louis I, duc de Bourbon

Pastel on blue paper, oval.
232 x 185 mm

4. Portrait of Louis II, duc de Bourbon

Pastel on blue paper, oval.
290 x 232 mm

5. Portrait of Blanche de Bourbon

Pastel on blue paper, oval.
281 x 229 mm

6. Portrait of Jean I de Bourbon

Pastel on blue paper, oval.
254 x 197 mm (10 x 7 ³/₄ in.)

7. Portrait of Pierre II de Beaujeu, duc de Bourbon

Pastel on blue paper, oval.
290 x 236 mm

8. Portrait of Pierre du Terrail, also called Chevalier Bayard

Pastel on blue paper.
268 x 214 mm

9. Portrait of Charles III de Bourbon, also called le connétable de Bourbon

Pastel on blue paper, oval.
290 x 225 mm

10. Portrait of Charles de Bourbon, duc de Vendôme

Pastel on blue paper, oval.
290 x 225 mm

11. Portrait of Antoine de Bourbon, roi de Navarre

Pastel on blue paper, oval.
298 x 231 mm

12. Portrait of François de Bourbon, comte d’Enghien

Pastel on blue paper, oval.
292 x 232 mm.

13. Portrait of Jeanne d’Albret

Pastel on blue paper, oval.
290 x 231 mm

14. Portrait of Louis I de Bourbon, prince de Condé

Pastel on blue paper, oval.
290 x 232 mm

Provenance

Possibly Étienne Alexandre Jacques Anisson called Anisson du Perron (1749 – 1794), director of the French royal printworks; possibly his sale 10 September 1795, with several other drawings, perhaps divided between lot 2: “Collection de soixante-quatre Dessins représentant les faits historiques de la maison de Bourbon […] ; la plupart des portraits sont dessinés d’après les tableaux et monumens du temps, par Fragonard et Vincent [Collection of 64 drawings of the historical actions of the house of Bourbon […]; mostly portraits drawn after paintings and monuments of the time, by Fragonard and Vincent]” and lot 4 “Neuf Portraits d’hommes & femmes, dessinés au crayons noir & blanc par Fragonard & Vincent. Ils étoient pareillement destinés à orner l’édition de la maison de Bourbon [9 Portraits of men & women, drawn in black and white chalk by Fragonard & Vincent. They were similarly intended to decorate the publication of the house of Bourbon]”. Pierre-Michel Lamy, his sale January- April 1808, lot 5225: “Vingt-cinq dessins de Boucher et de Fragonard pour le même ouvrage, en un vol. in-fol. mar. vert, tabis, dent. Les dessins de Fragonard, au nombre de 21, sont de très beaux portraits au crayons, noir et blanc, des divers princes de la maison de Bourbon. Ils sont d’une proportion beaucoup plus grande que les gravures qui en ont été faites [25 drawings by Boucher and Fragonard, 21 in number are very beautiful portraits in black and white chalks of the various princes of the house of Bourbon. They are a much larger size than the prints that were made from them].”¹  Jérôme Bignon Collection; his sale 4 December 1848 where they are attributed to Évariste Fragonard, without reference to Désormeaux’s publication: “Dix-neuf dessins au crayon noir, rehaussé de blanc, sur papier bleu. Plusieurs par Fragonard fils, représentant Saint Louis, Bayard, et des princes et princesses du sang des Bourbons sous Henri IV. Un vol. in-fol., maroquin vert dentelle, doublé de tapis, aux armes de France avec étui [19 drawings in black chalk, highlighted with white, on blue paper. Several by Fragonard the son, showing Saint Louis, Bayard, and princes and princesses of the Bourbon blood under Henri IV. One vol. in-fol., green morocco laced, lined with baize with the arms of France and in a case]”. The 14 drawings, placed in individual protective folios at the time, were acquired by a private collector. The Portrait of Jean I^er de Bourbon acquired by Jean-Luc Baroni and Marty de Cambiaire. The entire group was acquired by the Louvre on 12 February 2020.

¹ We are grateful to Neil Jeffares for providing this reference.

Bibliography of the series

Marie-Anne Dupuy-Vachey “Every possible combination” in Perrin Stein, Fragonard Drawing Triumphant. Works from New York collections, New York, Metropolitan museum of Art, 2016, p. 44-45; Marie-Anne Dupuy-Vachey, “Fragonard et le pastel. Nouvelles contributions à la connaissance du portraitiste”, Revue de l’art, n° 205-2019-3, p. 61-73; Neil Jeffares, Dictionary of pastellists before 1800, online edition, updated 9 January 2020, under the article Fragonard, as “intermediate works by whatever hands”.