Attributed to Jean-Jacques Lagrenée

Attributed to JEAN-JACQUES LAGRENÉE (Paris, 1739-1821).
"Allegorical scene" and "Still life of antiques", ca.1790.
Pair of watercolors on paper.
Measurements: 20 x 45 cm. and 21 x 51,5 cm.(paper); 39 x 65 cm. and 40 x 70 cm.(frames).

These two works, executed in watercolor, are archaeological caprices representing collections of Greco-Roman antiquities, a very popular theme in the Neoclassicism of the late 18th century. Both compositions are bathed in a nocturnal and mysterious atmosphere, where a directed light selectively highlights the objects, creating a dramatic and theatrical effect. The predominant use of blue, gray and ochre tones unifies the two scenes.

One of them presents the majestic statue of a seated Roman matron. Her dress, hairstyle and curule chair follow classical models. Around her, arranged in different planes, other elements of antiquity can be seen: a relief and a funerary monument with more sculptures; a female statue standing in a niche and a large vase or cinerary urn covered by a cloth. The composition, almost like a theatrical stage, evokes the excavations of Herculaneum and Pompeii, which fascinated artists and collectors of the time.

The second watercolor is a still life or still life composed of an accumulation of valuable ancient artifacts, arranged on what appears to be a sarcophagus or altar. The light strikes from the left to model the shapes and textures of the objects. Among the pieces represented are a Roman shield decorated with reliefs and resting next to a short sword or gladius, a Borghese-type krater, a chest also decorated with a frieze of classical figures, and an intricately designed candelabrum.

In subject matter, genre and treatment, it is attributed to the French painter and engraver Jean-Jacques Lagrenée. A pupil of his older brother Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée, Jean-Jacques Lagrenée stayed with him in Russia from 1760 to 1762, then at the French Academy in Rome from 1765 to 1769. He was very interested in the excavations of Herculaneum and Pompeii and made numerous studies in the field. Back in France, he devoted himself to history painting. Approved by the Royal Academy in 1769, he exhibited regularly at the Salon of 1771 and 1804. On June 30, 1775, he was received at the Academy with the Winter Ceiling of the Apollo Gallery of the Louvre Palace in Paris. In 1776, he was appointed assistant professor and, on July 28, 1781, professor, replacing Jean-Baptiste d'Huez; he was confirmed in this position on March 10, 1795. He was succeeded by Charles Meynier. In 1784 he published a collection of engraved plates of antiquity, providing a whole repertoire of motifs, friezes and various ornaments, from his surveys carried out in the region of Naples. In 1785, the Count of Angiviller, who wanted to encourage a return to antiquity, appointed him artistic co-director of the Porcelain of Sèvres. With his colleague Boizot, he is the author of the Etruscan service for the dairy of Rambouillet. He is buried in the Père Lachaise Cemetery.