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Lot Essay
Léonard Boudin, maître in 1761.
Léonard Boudin (1735 - 1807) started his career working for Pierre Migeon, mainly supplying furniture with floral marquetry veneers or Chinese-style japanning. After receiving his maîtrise, he opened his own workshop. By 1770 Boudin was regarded as a well-known artisan and received several commissions from his confrères in the guild. In 1772 he opened a shop opposite the Palais Royal beginning to work as a marchand-ébéniste. Boudin's oeuvre is arguably the most prolific of the Transitional period, and his stamp as marchand appears often alongside that of the maker. He collaborated on numerous occasions with Cosson, who executed various breakfront commodes with intricate cube and trellis parquetry, but as marchand also commissioned works from Chevallier, Cordie, Denizot, Evald, Foullet, Gilbert, Macret and Topino. As such he applied his stamp alongside that of the true author, or on pieces that were not stamped. Indeed, he became one of the principal marchands of Paris and had to abandon his own workshop in 1777. It is thus very possible that this commode was only retailed by Boudin rather than made by him.
Léonard Boudin (1735 - 1807) started his career working for Pierre Migeon, mainly supplying furniture with floral marquetry veneers or Chinese-style japanning. After receiving his maîtrise, he opened his own workshop. By 1770 Boudin was regarded as a well-known artisan and received several commissions from his confrères in the guild. In 1772 he opened a shop opposite the Palais Royal beginning to work as a marchand-ébéniste. Boudin's oeuvre is arguably the most prolific of the Transitional period, and his stamp as marchand appears often alongside that of the maker. He collaborated on numerous occasions with Cosson, who executed various breakfront commodes with intricate cube and trellis parquetry, but as marchand also commissioned works from Chevallier, Cordie, Denizot, Evald, Foullet, Gilbert, Macret and Topino. As such he applied his stamp alongside that of the true author, or on pieces that were not stamped. Indeed, he became one of the principal marchands of Paris and had to abandon his own workshop in 1777. It is thus very possible that this commode was only retailed by Boudin rather than made by him.