Jean-Jacques Karpff, called Casimir* (1770-1829)

Jean-Jacques Reiset seated by a desk, a letter in front of him

Details

Jean-Jacques Karpff, called Casimir* (1770-1829)
Jean-Jacques Reiset seated by a desk, a letter in front of him
inscribed 'Au citoy[en] Recevr and signed (?) and inscribed 'Jean Jacques Reiset, vivant Bailli de la Province d'Alsace avocat au conseil Souverain d'Alsace Receveur Gneral Du Haut Rhin ne Colmar en 1731 mort dans cette ville en 1804. Casimir Karpff. Colmar' on the backing
black lead, black chalk
12 x 9 in. (303 x 231 mm.)

Provenance

The Parisian Framer's label on the backing.

Lot Essay

The sitter is Jean-Jacques Reiset who, like Casimir, came from Colmar. He was Seigneur de Chavanatte, Receveur gnral des finances and Matre des eaux et forts d'Alsace, and was the grandfather of Frdric Reiset, the famous collector and, since 1849, director of the Louvre and curator of its drawings collection. Frdric was a close friend of Ingres, who drew portraits of the collector and his wife, Hortense, in 1844, now in the collection of Sir Brinsley Ford, London, H. Naef, Die Bildniszeichnungen von J.-A.-D. Ingres, V, Bern, 1980, no. 398.
Another portrait of Madame Reiset with their only child Marie is in the Museum Boymans-van Beuningen, Rotterdam, Naef, op.cit., no. 400.
In 1850 Ingres made a portrait of Marie Reiset at the age of fourteen, which was sold at Christie's, New York, 22 May 1996, lot. 48.