French School, 18th Century, after Sir Peter Paul Rubens
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French School, 18th Century, after Sir Peter Paul Rubens

Procession of children and amoretti with a festoon and a lion and a bear drawing a chariot; and Procession of children and amoretti with a cornucopia, a lion, and a wolf and a ram drawing a chariot

Details
French School, 18th Century, after Sir Peter Paul Rubens
Procession of children and amoretti with a festoon and a lion and a bear drawing a chariot; and Procession of children and amoretti with a cornucopia, a lion, and a wolf and a ram drawing a chariot
oil on canvas
4¾ x 16 in. (12 x 40.7 cm.)
a pair (2)
Provenance
Anonymous sale; Sotheby's, London, 30 June 1965, lot 58, as by Watteau after Rubens (£700 to Picard).
David Carritt (1927-1982), Wood House, Faringdon, Berkshire, until March 1974, when given by him to the present owner.
Literature
G. Martin, Rubens: The Ceiling Decoration of the Banqueting Hall, in Corpus Rubenianum Ludwig Burchard, XV, 2005, I, under nos. 10b and 11b, II, pls. 140 and 156.
Special notice
No VAT will be charged on the hammer price, but VAT at 15% will be added to the buyer's premium which is invoiced on a VAT inclusive basis.

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Anne Qaimmaqami
Anne Qaimmaqami

Lot Essay

This pair of pictures is of considerable art-historical interest and importance, as the only complete record of the first compositional modello, now lost, for the corresponding canvases in the Banqueting House ceiling, painted by Sir Peter Paul Rubens to celebrate the rule of James I, and installed in 1636, during the reign of Charles I. As the enclosed letter by David Carritt relates, they were once thought to have been painted by Watteau, who may have seen Rubens's original modello (or modelli) in Crozat's collection. The present lot is a precious record of Rubens's creative process, recording numerous details that were later modified in subsequent studies and in the final work; these are given close attention by Gregory Martin in his complete discussion of the Banqueting House ceiling (loc. cit.; see also pp. 278-304, passim).

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