Michel-Nicolas-Bernard Lépicié (Paris 1735-1784)

Portrait of the cellist Martin Bertaud

Details

Michel-Nicolas-Bernard Lépicié (Paris 1735-1784)
Portrait of the cellist Martin Bertaud
red chalk, watermark device, circular
10 7/8 x 10¾ in. (27.6 x 27.4 cm.)

Provenance

E. Norblin; Delbergue, Paris, 30 January 1863, lot 30 ('Vieillard coiffé d'un bonnet, il tient son instrument d'une main, de l'autre appuie son archet sur un cahier de musique.').
Alphonse de Rothschild.
with Charles E. Slatkin Galleries, New York.

Literature

P.G. Dreyfus, L'oeuvre peint et dessiné de Nicolas Bernard Lépicié, Paris, 1923, no. 346.

Brought to you by

Jennifer Wright

Check the condition report or get in touch for additional information about this

jwright@christies.com Tel: +1 212 636 2384

If you wish to view the condition report of this lot, please sign in to your account.

View condition report

Lot Essay

Bertaud (circa 1700-1771; also spelled Berthault and Berteau) was the founder of the French school of cello playing although he began his career studying the bass viol. Very few works by him survive. Lépicié also painted this composition, on panel and in an oval format (Gaston, op. cit., p. 55, no. 92). This drawing was later engraved by Frédéric Désiré Hillemacher (1811-1886).

More from Old Master & Early British Drawings & Watercolors Including an Important Canadian Collection and a Distinguished Private Collection

View All