Jean Jacques Lagrenée (1739-1821). Ancient Sacrifice

18th century work, attributed to Jean-Jacques Lagrenée (1739-1821)

Oil on panel representing an ancient sacrifice.

Painting probably from the sale after the death of Louis François de Bourbon, which took place in Paris in 1777.
The work would have been presented there under the number “751” with the title Sacrifice de la poule.
Despite the differences in size and support, common errors in the catalogs of the time, the drawing by Gabriel de Saint-Aubin made during the Conti sale and now kept at the National Library of France tends to confirm this provenance. (M. Remy).

In this painting, we clearly find the touch of the artist: a contrast effect in the drapes, a color of pure skin enhanced with dewy cheeks as much as a representation of the antique by the realization of architecture and ancient landscape .

Dimensions: 47cm H x 36cm W

Origin :

Posthumous sale of Louis Francois de Bourbon, Prince of Conti (1717-1776) on April 7 and 8, 1777 in Paris;


Jean-Jacques LAGRENEE

Jean-Jacques Lagrenée is the younger brother of Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée (1725-1805). The latter, painter to his Majesty in Russia and director of the Academy of Fine Arts in Saint Petersburg, then professor and director at the Royal Academy in France and Rome, spent his stays with his brother, Jean-Jacques, whom he took as a student. During his trip to Italy, Lagrenée the Younger was particularly interested in the excavations of Pompeii and Herculaneum, from which he produced a collection of engraved plates from Antiquity, listing motifs, friezes and ornaments, in 1784, in s inspired by his readings.
After his stay in Italy and in the exercise of his art, he turned mainly to oil painting in representation of scenes from History.
He was approved in 1769 by the Royal Academy and then eleven years later, was accepted into the Academy thanks to the realization of the Winter Ceiling, of the Galerie d'Apollon, at the Louvre. From 1771 to 1804, he exhibited frequently at the Salon de Peinture in Paris, a period during which he was appointed assistant professor, then full professor and finally became co-artistic director of the Manufacture de Sèvres, alongside Boizot, in 1785.