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Lot Essay
The present works are the only surviving paintings from one of the most extraordinary and praised rocaille décor of 18th-century France. They were once part of a series of thirteen allegories of the Arts and Sciences also comprising History, Sculpture, Pharmacy, Botany, Architecture, Geography, Eloquence, Navigation, Music, The forces of Nature and Painting. Lajoüe painted the series for the cabinet of Michel Ferdinand d'Albert d'Ailly, duc de Picquigny (1714-1769), who, in 1744, became duc de Chaulnes. The two probably met through the aristocrat's brother-in-law, Bonnier de la Masson, another important patron of the artist. The paintings were first placed in the Duc's hôtel particulier on the rue du Bac and later moved to his new home, the Hôtel de Chaulnes, on the rue d'Enfer, near the Luxembourg Palace. Unfortunately, no text or engraving records the placing of the paintings in either of Picquigny's homes. However, Marianne Roland-Michel (loc. cit.) has suggested that the paintings, which are too small to be overdoors, may have been inserted into boiseries, in the center of sculpted panels like medallions, or possibly above bookshelves.
Picquigny was a collector of curiosités and an amateur of the sciences. He became member of the Academy of Science in 1743 and was the exemplary Enlightenment man. The marchands merciers Lazare Duvaux and Guersaint recorded numerous scientific instruments such as mirrors, miniature models, lunettes and astrolabes in his collections.
Lajoüe's thirteen allegories were extremely famous in the 18th century, largely due to the publication of engravings by Cochin in 1737-8 and later by Tardieu, and were much copied. Some of Lajoüe's models were even used for marquetry designs: Optics, for example, appears on the Cabinet de Beaumarchais at Waddesdon Manor.
Picquigny was a collector of curiosités and an amateur of the sciences. He became member of the Academy of Science in 1743 and was the exemplary Enlightenment man. The marchands merciers Lazare Duvaux and Guersaint recorded numerous scientific instruments such as mirrors, miniature models, lunettes and astrolabes in his collections.
Lajoüe's thirteen allegories were extremely famous in the 18th century, largely due to the publication of engravings by Cochin in 1737-8 and later by Tardieu, and were much copied. Some of Lajoüe's models were even used for marquetry designs: Optics, for example, appears on the Cabinet de Beaumarchais at Waddesdon Manor.