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Lot Essay
This monumental wallpaper panel was hand-printed by the workshops of Jules Desfossé (1816-1890), successor to the old-established Parisian wallpaper firm of Mader, in which he had previously been a partner. In 1855, wanting to raise the profile of the firm, he embarked on a major project, of which 'Les Prodigues' was a part. In collaboration with the academic painter Thomas Couture (1815-79), Desfossé produced this design as one of three for display on his stand at the Paris International Exhibition of 1855. Although well-received by the public, this panel received only a First Class Medal, rather than a gold, suggesting that the subject matter was not popular with the jury. The end of a long night of debauchery at a Parisian restaurant, with Pierrot depicted by the artist Couture himself, with the German painter Feuerbach and the famous actress Alice Ozy, is not a subject likely to be popular with contemporary authorities.
Only two examples of this panel survive French museums in good enough condition for display; another example has very recently been bought by the Whitworth Art Gallery, University of Manchester.
We are grateful to Christine Woods, Curator of Wallpaper at the Whitworth Art Gallery, for her help in cataloguing this lot.
Only two examples of this panel survive French museums in good enough condition for display; another example has very recently been bought by the Whitworth Art Gallery, University of Manchester.
We are grateful to Christine Woods, Curator of Wallpaper at the Whitworth Art Gallery, for her help in cataloguing this lot.