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Lot Essay
The sitter was a famous horn soloist, a composer and professor of horn music at the Paris Conservatory. He is thought to have been self-taught and in 1788 he entered the orchestra of the comédie italienne in Paris. In 1790 he formed part of the Musique des Gardes Françaises. In 1797 he was admitted to the orchestra of the Paris Opéra and in 1801 he became a solo horn player. He played in the Chapelle Musique which was established by Napoleon.
According to Williamson, supra, the horn was a gift from Emperor Napoleon to the sitter and it mostly likely had a gold mouthpiece. The design on the horn is based on a drawing by the French architect Charles Percier (1764-1838). The instrument was most likely made by Lucien-Joseph Raoux (1753-1823), a member of three generations of the Raoux family who were both designers and the lead manufacturers of the French horn, based in Paris. Records show that the Paris Opéra was commissioning horns from the Raoux family for its leading soloists and that a horn made specifically for Duvernoy was delivered to the Opéra in 1802. This may well be the horn depicted in the present portrait. An example of a horn made by Marcel-August Raoux (son of Lucien-Joseph Raoux) is in the Victoria & Albert Museum, inv. no. W.83 to E-1926. It was made for the Italian-born virtuoso Giovanni Puzzi (1797-1876), and presented to him by the King of France. For a detailed article about the Raoux family, see Giannini 2014.
The present portrait, which was exhibited by Augustin in the year of its execution, 1817, can be seen in a watercolour of the artist’s studio, to the left of the chimney piece. The watercolour is now in the Musée d’art et d’histoire, Geneva, inv. no. 2134 (see exhibition catalogue Bordeaux / Geneva / Paris 1995-1996).
A pencil on paper study for the present portrait is illustrated in Pappe 2015, p. 334, no. 930, and a further similar work on paper is listed as no. 931.
We are indebted to Professor Tula Giannini at the Pratt Institute for her generous help with our research on the horn in the present portrait.
According to Williamson, supra, the horn was a gift from Emperor Napoleon to the sitter and it mostly likely had a gold mouthpiece. The design on the horn is based on a drawing by the French architect Charles Percier (1764-1838). The instrument was most likely made by Lucien-Joseph Raoux (1753-1823), a member of three generations of the Raoux family who were both designers and the lead manufacturers of the French horn, based in Paris. Records show that the Paris Opéra was commissioning horns from the Raoux family for its leading soloists and that a horn made specifically for Duvernoy was delivered to the Opéra in 1802. This may well be the horn depicted in the present portrait. An example of a horn made by Marcel-August Raoux (son of Lucien-Joseph Raoux) is in the Victoria & Albert Museum, inv. no. W.83 to E-1926. It was made for the Italian-born virtuoso Giovanni Puzzi (1797-1876), and presented to him by the King of France. For a detailed article about the Raoux family, see Giannini 2014.
The present portrait, which was exhibited by Augustin in the year of its execution, 1817, can be seen in a watercolour of the artist’s studio, to the left of the chimney piece. The watercolour is now in the Musée d’art et d’histoire, Geneva, inv. no. 2134 (see exhibition catalogue Bordeaux / Geneva / Paris 1995-1996).
A pencil on paper study for the present portrait is illustrated in Pappe 2015, p. 334, no. 930, and a further similar work on paper is listed as no. 931.
We are indebted to Professor Tula Giannini at the Pratt Institute for her generous help with our research on the horn in the present portrait.