Result
JEAN-JACQUES LEQUEU AND CHARLES DE LA FOSSE CELEBRATED DURING THE SALE OF OLD MASTERS


As Paris honors drawing this March, Aguttes presented, during its "Old Masters" auction on March 28, 2023, at the Hôtel Drouot, a selection of works on paper. An architectural project for a church by Jean-Jacques Lequeu (Rouen, 1757 - 1826, Paris) sparked a memorable bidding battle, reaching up to €110,500*, while the Château de Versailles preempted Charles de La Fosse's (Paris, 1636 – 1716) Allegory of the Peace Treaty between Louis XIV, the Germans, and the Dutch.
 Old Masters
Top 5* of the sale:

1. Lot 90 - Jean-Jacques Lequeu, Architectural Project for a Church - €110,500
2. Lot 70 - French School, after 1840, after Jacques-Louis David, The Death of Marat - €106,600
3. Lot 11 - Attributed to Juan Pantoja de la Cruz, Portrait of a Woman from the Court of Philip III of Spain (1578-1598) - €75,400
4. Lot 67 - First workshop of Jacques-Louis David, Portrait of Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier (1743-1794) and his wife, Marie-Anne-Pierrette Paulze (1758-1836) - €52,000
5. Lot 3 - Italian School of the 16th century, Circle of Perugino, Virgin and Child with Saint John the Baptist - €33,800


View the *complete results of the sale



An auction with 80% new lots:
"Yesterday, my team and I presented this drawing by Jean-Jacques Lequeu. It received many passionate visits in the past few days and soared to €110,500 around 4:30 pm. Victoria Damidot called the seller to announce the news of such a beautiful result. It's a privileged moment in this profession when you announce such a conclusion to sellers, with the feeling of a job well done."

Lot 90 - Jean-Jacques Lequeu (Rouen, 1757 - 1826, Paris)
Architectural Project for a Church Pen,
brown and black inks, brown wash
Signed and dated bottom left 1820 / Jean Jacques Lequeu 48.9 x 54.3 cm
Sold for €110,500



This Architectural Project for a Church (lot 90) sparked a spectacular bidding war that led enthusiasts to €110,500. A beautiful recognition for Jean-Jacques Lequeu (Rouen, 1757 - 1826, Paris), an artist long forgotten! Rediscovered in the 1970s, Lequeu left us with a virtuoso and astonishing body of work. At his death in 1826, he had bequeathed almost all of his drawings to the Royal Library, still considered one of the highlights of the Prints and Photography Cabinet of the National Library of France. The exhibition "Jean-Jacques Lequeu, Builder of Fantasies," held from December 11, 2018, to March 31, 2019, at the Petit Palais, paid tribute to the whimsical universe of the artist and his talent. The remarkable sheet discovered by Aguttes testifies to Lequeu's knowledge of geometry, perspective, and his drawing skills, blending into the fantasy of his projects and the originality of his architectural visions. After several professional setbacks, Lequeu, then employed in cadastre, continued to participate in architecture competitions but in vain. "One cannot help but marvel at this wash technique: bistre wash for the antechapel and light gray wash for the chapel. This paper work offers an extraordinary contrast." Grégoire Lacroix, Director of the Department of Old Drawings & Paintings
The Death of Marat (lot 70), a painting from after 1840 attributed to Jacques-Louis David, was another noteworthy discovery. It reappeared in 2009 and was initially considered a preparatory sketch for Jacques-Louis David's (1748 - 1825) grand composition. Bidders competed for it until it reached €106,600. Research conducted last year using scientific methods allowed for dating the work. Various imaging techniques applied to the painting, including visible light photography, raking and ultraviolet, infrared reflectography, and X-ray radiography, revealed the use of lead chromates, as artistic pigments not attested before 1803 - 1804, as well as the use of emerald green and chromium oxide green, not attested before the 1840s.