A Study of Bernini’s and Girardon’s Equestrian Statue of Louis XIV / Marcus Curtius at Versailles

Details

GIOVANNI BOLDINI (1842-1931)
A Study of Bernini’s and Girardon’s Equestrian Statue of Louis XIV / Marcus Curtius at Versailles
with inscription '8 mars - 9 juin 1963 - musée jacquemart andré / de l'album n^o.16, si souvent feuilleté, / ce dessin de Boldini au Comte Doria / avec la reconnaissante amitié de / Milli Boldini' (verso)
black chalk with stumping, on ruled paper from a notebook partial watermark initial 'H'
6 7⁄8 x 8 ¾ in. (17.4 x 22.2 cm.)

Provenance

Emilia Cardona Boldini (1899-1977), Ferrara.
Comte Arnauld Doria (1890-1977), Paris, a gift from the above in 1963 (with his collection label and number '979' on the reverse of the frame), then by descent; sale, Christie's, Paris, 27 March 2019, lot 168.
Acquired at the above sale.

Exhibited

Paris, Musée Jacquemart-André, Boldini, March-June 1963, ex. cat. (reproduced on the invitation to the opening of the exhibition).

Conditions of sale

Brought to you by

Leo Webster Specialist

lwebster@christies.com +44 (0)20 7389 2013

Lot Essay

Rapidly executed in black chalk, this sketch depicts Bernini’s equestrian monument of King Louis XIV at the gardens of the Palace of Versailles (R. Wittkower, Gian Lorenzo Bernini. The Sculptor of the Roman Baroque, Oxford, 1981, no. 54, pls. 111, 113, figs. 110-112). Although the sculpture was begun in the mid-1660s, it was not sent to Paris until 1685. On seeing the finished work, Louis XIV was reportedly so displeased that he ordered it be moved to a secluded area of the gardens. The monument was later transformed by François Girardon into a depiction of the Roman hero Marcus Curtius.

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