Lot Essay
Dr. Sam Segal has kindly confirmed the attribution and points out that the signature on the verso seems to be authentic, while he doubts the signature on the recto.
The present lot is a drawn version of the artist's picture of the same composition, signed and dated 1787. That was bought from the artist by the Comte d'Artois, brother of Louis XVI, in 1787, most recently sold at Sotheby's, New York, 19 September 1994, lot 129, now in a private Collection, United States (S. Segal, Van Spaendonck, 1980, pp. 198-199, no. 159, illustrated). The decoration on the stand of the urn in the picture differs from that in the present drawing. Famous for its composition, the picture was engraved in colours by Auguste Piquet de Brienne (1789-1880), Segal, op.cit., pl. 40, and, in smaller format, by an anonymous hand, both published in Paris.
The present lot is a drawn version of the artist's picture of the same composition, signed and dated 1787. That was bought from the artist by the Comte d'Artois, brother of Louis XVI, in 1787, most recently sold at Sotheby's, New York, 19 September 1994, lot 129, now in a private Collection, United States (S. Segal, Van Spaendonck, 1980, pp. 198-199, no. 159, illustrated). The decoration on the stand of the urn in the picture differs from that in the present drawing. Famous for its composition, the picture was engraved in colours by Auguste Piquet de Brienne (1789-1880), Segal, op.cit., pl. 40, and, in smaller format, by an anonymous hand, both published in Paris.