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Lot Essay
Roger van der Cruse, known as Lacroix, maître in 1755.
Léonard Boudin, maître in 1761.
Of grand scale and exquisite craftmanship, this cylinder-bureau is closely related to two other examples stamped by RVLC (one sold from the collection of Baroness Burton, Christie's London, 22 November 1950, lot 280, the other Christie's London, 4 June 1998, lot 50, £364,500). The similarities between the bureaux lie in several of the mounts and the sinuous yet tentatively Transitional outline, the prototype for which was developed by Jean-François Oeben (d. 1763) shortly before 1760 (R. Stratmann-Dühler, Jean-François Oeben, Paris, 2002, p. 74). This model immediately gained great acclaim and Lacroix soon developed his own, bolder, version of this popular type conceived by his brother-in-law.
BOUDIN AND LACROIX
The Wildenstein bureau is stamped by the marchand-ébéniste Léonard Boudin, whose prolific and sizeable oeuvre includes various pieces stamped by him, which were however subcontracted to one of his contempories. On some items of furniture, both Boudin's stamp and that of the ébéniste appear next to each other. The collaboration between RVLC and Boudin was particularly fruitful. It is not just linked to a group of cylinder bureaux, but also associated with a number of small and richly-inlaid secrétaires decorated with chinoiserie scenes (C. Roinet, Roger Vandercruse dit Lacroix, Paris, 2000, p. 590).
Léonard Boudin, maître in 1761.
Of grand scale and exquisite craftmanship, this cylinder-bureau is closely related to two other examples stamped by RVLC (one sold from the collection of Baroness Burton, Christie's London, 22 November 1950, lot 280, the other Christie's London, 4 June 1998, lot 50, £364,500). The similarities between the bureaux lie in several of the mounts and the sinuous yet tentatively Transitional outline, the prototype for which was developed by Jean-François Oeben (d. 1763) shortly before 1760 (R. Stratmann-Dühler, Jean-François Oeben, Paris, 2002, p. 74). This model immediately gained great acclaim and Lacroix soon developed his own, bolder, version of this popular type conceived by his brother-in-law.
BOUDIN AND LACROIX
The Wildenstein bureau is stamped by the marchand-ébéniste Léonard Boudin, whose prolific and sizeable oeuvre includes various pieces stamped by him, which were however subcontracted to one of his contempories. On some items of furniture, both Boudin's stamp and that of the ébéniste appear next to each other. The collaboration between RVLC and Boudin was particularly fruitful. It is not just linked to a group of cylinder bureaux, but also associated with a number of small and richly-inlaid secrétaires decorated with chinoiserie scenes (C. Roinet, Roger Vandercruse dit Lacroix, Paris, 2000, p. 590).