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Lot Essay
Jean-François Leleu (1729-1807), mâitre in 1764.
THE OEUVRE OF JEAN-FRANCOIS LELEU
This beautiful table mécanique, its sliding top combining ‘mosaïque’ parquetry around a vibrant floral bouquet which is a veritable ‘painting in wood’, is a masterpiece by Leleu, one of the most refined and elegant cabinetmakers of the late Louis XV and Louis XVI periods. Leleu masterfully bridged the transition from the last flowering of the naturalistic Rococo style, to the emerging rigorous Neoclassicism of the goût grec. He first worked in the workshop of the great ébéniste Jean-François Oeben (1721-1763), where he perfected both the arts of delicate floral marquetry and the precise and sophisticated geometric parquetry that would characterize his inlay. After the early death of his master, Leleu hoped to be entrusted with the running of the workshop, but was superseded by Jean-Henri Riesener (1734-1806), another journeyman in Oeben's employ. Riesener married Oeben's widow and went on to become the court ébéniste of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette. Leleu left the workshop, became maître-ébéniste in 1764 and set up business on his own. While unable to work for the Royal court because of Riesener's position as royal cabinet-maker, Leleu nevertheless attracted an important range of clients both from the ranks of aristocracy and the newly wealthy banking class, notably the duc d'Uzès, baron d'Ivry, Madame du Barry and the prince de Condé, and the prominent tastemaker financiers Ange-Laurent Lalive de Jully, Jean-Joseph, marquis de Laborde and Micault d’Harvelay, all brothers-in-law through their marriages to three sisters from the Nettine family, Brussels bankers to the court of Vienna (S. Eriksen, Early Neo-Classicism in France, London 1974, pp. 79-81, figs. 127-130; A. Pradère, Les Ebénistes Français de Louis XIV à la Révolution, Paris 1989, pp. 338-340, figs. 396 and 397).
Among his clients were some of the most adventurous pioneers of the Neoclassical style—particularly Madame du Barry, whose extensive patronage exerted a wide influence on the introduction of Neoclassical forms into furniture design—and the baron d'Ivry, for whom Leleu executed many pieces of case furniture between 1765 and 1771. These were supplied for the baron's château d'Hénanville, which had been modernized by the Nicolas Barré, who was also architect to the marquis de Laborde, for whom Leleu supplied furniture for the château du Marais, also designed by Barré, and the château de Méréville, while he is also recorded as restoring the famous goût grec coquiller of Lalive de Jully .
RELATED WORKS BY LELEU
Perhaps Leleu's most prestigious and celebrated commission is that for the prince de Condé at the palais Bourbon and the château de Chantilly, to whom he supplied furniture worth more than 60,000 livres between 1772 and 1777. This included two sécretaires à abbatant, two bureaux à cylindre, seven commodes, two writing desks, twenty-seven games tables and eleven screens of various kinds; he also provided a marquetry floor (S. Eriksen, Early Neoclassicism in France, London 1974, p. 201). All of the furniture was in the most advanced taste and although the prince de Condé did not take up residence for a number of years, his initiative, along with that of other discerning connoisseurs, such as the duc de Choiseul and the duc d'Uzès, firmly established this new style amongst Parisian craftsmen (ibid., p. 120).
Among these deliveries, several pieces can be identified, including in the following collections:
- Musée du Louvre (inv. OA9589), a commode supplied for the bedroom of the prince de Condé at the palais Bourbon for 2,400 livres on 9 November 1772, previously in the collection of the princesse de Faucigny, (see D. Alcouffe, et. al., Le Mobilier du Musée du Louvre, Dijon 1993, no. 62)
- Musée National du château de Versailles et des Trianons, a pair of commodes supplied for the bedroom of the duchesse de Bourbon at the palais Bourbon for 7,470 livres on 1 May 1773
- Wallace Collection, London (inv. no. F246), a commode supplied for the chambre rose at the palais Bourbon for 10,715 livres on 28 December 1772
- Private Collection in France, a bureau à cylindre supplied for the salon rose at the palais Bourbon for 4,760 livres in 1772
This exquisite table, however, most closely relates to two cylinder bureaux, virtually identical to each other, one of which, following the research of Anne Forray-Carlier, has been identified as having been supplied for the Petit Cabinet de l’Appartement Intérieur of the Prince de Condé at Chantilly (later sold Sotheby’s, Monaco, 16 June 1990, lot 943 and now in a private collection). The other was sold from the collection of the Viennese Rothschilds, Christie’s, London, 8 July 1999, lot 206 (£441,500).
Although the parquetry pattern on the Aitken table is slightly different (the parquetry of the two bureau are filled with lozenges while that on the Aitken table is filled with flowers), the distinct mounts of delicate tendrils, rare in the oeuvre of Leleu, which appears on the upper frieze of the two bureaux, also appears on the frieze and the drawer front of the Aitken table. It is also pertinent to note that the drawer of the Aitken table is lined in blue silk (often seen on the most refined creations of the marchands merciers) a feature seen on both the above bureau—indeed, the bill for the Chantilly bureau specifically mentions that the drawers are ‘garnis de moere bleux'.
LELEU AND STADLER
Intriguingly, both cylinder bureaux bear the name of the cabinet-maker Stadler. The rolltop desk sold at Sotheby's was inscribed in chalk 'Stadler' under the central drawer, while the Rothschild bureau bears a label hidden at the back of the carcase behind the top left drawer, inscribed 'Stadler et benistre rue Roialle saint paulle'. Charles-Antoine Stadler was still a free craftsman when he married the daughter-in-law of Jean-François Leleu on 19 February 1767, but received his maîtrise on 13 November 1776, one month after the death of his spouse. The inventory drawn up on 7 October 1776 lists three work-benches, but also work completed for his father-in-law which amounted to 834 livres. It appears that he specialized in the production of marquetry, not only because the tools described would indicate this, but also because of the table described in his workshop: une table, le dessus fleurs et mosaïque 336 livres. Tantalizingly, this brief description could in fact refer to the top of the Aitken table, with its combination of ‘mosaïque’ parquetry and flowers.
THE OEUVRE OF JEAN-FRANCOIS LELEU
This beautiful table mécanique, its sliding top combining ‘mosaïque’ parquetry around a vibrant floral bouquet which is a veritable ‘painting in wood’, is a masterpiece by Leleu, one of the most refined and elegant cabinetmakers of the late Louis XV and Louis XVI periods. Leleu masterfully bridged the transition from the last flowering of the naturalistic Rococo style, to the emerging rigorous Neoclassicism of the goût grec. He first worked in the workshop of the great ébéniste Jean-François Oeben (1721-1763), where he perfected both the arts of delicate floral marquetry and the precise and sophisticated geometric parquetry that would characterize his inlay. After the early death of his master, Leleu hoped to be entrusted with the running of the workshop, but was superseded by Jean-Henri Riesener (1734-1806), another journeyman in Oeben's employ. Riesener married Oeben's widow and went on to become the court ébéniste of King Louis XVI and Queen Marie-Antoinette. Leleu left the workshop, became maître-ébéniste in 1764 and set up business on his own. While unable to work for the Royal court because of Riesener's position as royal cabinet-maker, Leleu nevertheless attracted an important range of clients both from the ranks of aristocracy and the newly wealthy banking class, notably the duc d'Uzès, baron d'Ivry, Madame du Barry and the prince de Condé, and the prominent tastemaker financiers Ange-Laurent Lalive de Jully, Jean-Joseph, marquis de Laborde and Micault d’Harvelay, all brothers-in-law through their marriages to three sisters from the Nettine family, Brussels bankers to the court of Vienna (S. Eriksen, Early Neo-Classicism in France, London 1974, pp. 79-81, figs. 127-130; A. Pradère, Les Ebénistes Français de Louis XIV à la Révolution, Paris 1989, pp. 338-340, figs. 396 and 397).
Among his clients were some of the most adventurous pioneers of the Neoclassical style—particularly Madame du Barry, whose extensive patronage exerted a wide influence on the introduction of Neoclassical forms into furniture design—and the baron d'Ivry, for whom Leleu executed many pieces of case furniture between 1765 and 1771. These were supplied for the baron's château d'Hénanville, which had been modernized by the Nicolas Barré, who was also architect to the marquis de Laborde, for whom Leleu supplied furniture for the château du Marais, also designed by Barré, and the château de Méréville, while he is also recorded as restoring the famous goût grec coquiller of Lalive de Jully .
RELATED WORKS BY LELEU
Perhaps Leleu's most prestigious and celebrated commission is that for the prince de Condé at the palais Bourbon and the château de Chantilly, to whom he supplied furniture worth more than 60,000 livres between 1772 and 1777. This included two sécretaires à abbatant, two bureaux à cylindre, seven commodes, two writing desks, twenty-seven games tables and eleven screens of various kinds; he also provided a marquetry floor (S. Eriksen, Early Neoclassicism in France, London 1974, p. 201). All of the furniture was in the most advanced taste and although the prince de Condé did not take up residence for a number of years, his initiative, along with that of other discerning connoisseurs, such as the duc de Choiseul and the duc d'Uzès, firmly established this new style amongst Parisian craftsmen (ibid., p. 120).
Among these deliveries, several pieces can be identified, including in the following collections:
- Musée du Louvre (inv. OA9589), a commode supplied for the bedroom of the prince de Condé at the palais Bourbon for 2,400 livres on 9 November 1772, previously in the collection of the princesse de Faucigny, (see D. Alcouffe, et. al., Le Mobilier du Musée du Louvre, Dijon 1993, no. 62)
- Musée National du château de Versailles et des Trianons, a pair of commodes supplied for the bedroom of the duchesse de Bourbon at the palais Bourbon for 7,470 livres on 1 May 1773
- Wallace Collection, London (inv. no. F246), a commode supplied for the chambre rose at the palais Bourbon for 10,715 livres on 28 December 1772
- Private Collection in France, a bureau à cylindre supplied for the salon rose at the palais Bourbon for 4,760 livres in 1772
This exquisite table, however, most closely relates to two cylinder bureaux, virtually identical to each other, one of which, following the research of Anne Forray-Carlier, has been identified as having been supplied for the Petit Cabinet de l’Appartement Intérieur of the Prince de Condé at Chantilly (later sold Sotheby’s, Monaco, 16 June 1990, lot 943 and now in a private collection). The other was sold from the collection of the Viennese Rothschilds, Christie’s, London, 8 July 1999, lot 206 (£441,500).
Although the parquetry pattern on the Aitken table is slightly different (the parquetry of the two bureau are filled with lozenges while that on the Aitken table is filled with flowers), the distinct mounts of delicate tendrils, rare in the oeuvre of Leleu, which appears on the upper frieze of the two bureaux, also appears on the frieze and the drawer front of the Aitken table. It is also pertinent to note that the drawer of the Aitken table is lined in blue silk (often seen on the most refined creations of the marchands merciers) a feature seen on both the above bureau—indeed, the bill for the Chantilly bureau specifically mentions that the drawers are ‘garnis de moere bleux'.
LELEU AND STADLER
Intriguingly, both cylinder bureaux bear the name of the cabinet-maker Stadler. The rolltop desk sold at Sotheby's was inscribed in chalk 'Stadler' under the central drawer, while the Rothschild bureau bears a label hidden at the back of the carcase behind the top left drawer, inscribed 'Stadler et benistre rue Roialle saint paulle'. Charles-Antoine Stadler was still a free craftsman when he married the daughter-in-law of Jean-François Leleu on 19 February 1767, but received his maîtrise on 13 November 1776, one month after the death of his spouse. The inventory drawn up on 7 October 1776 lists three work-benches, but also work completed for his father-in-law which amounted to 834 livres. It appears that he specialized in the production of marquetry, not only because the tools described would indicate this, but also because of the table described in his workshop: une table, le dessus fleurs et mosaïque 336 livres. Tantalizingly, this brief description could in fact refer to the top of the Aitken table, with its combination of ‘mosaïque’ parquetry and flowers.