Charles Le Brun | La grande galerie de Versailles. Paris, 1752, fine engraved plates in a Padeloup binding - photo 1
Charles Le Brun | La grande galerie de Versailles. Paris, 1752, fine engraved plates in a Padeloup binding - photo 2
Charles Le Brun | La grande galerie de Versailles. Paris, 1752, fine engraved plates in a Padeloup binding - photo 3
Charles Le Brun | La grande galerie de Versailles. Paris, 1752, fine engraved plates in a Padeloup binding - photo 4

Charles Le Brun | La grande galerie de Versailles. Paris, 1752, fine engraved plates in a Padeloup binding

Sold
£ 10 160
Auction dateClassic
28.11.2023 14:00UTC +01:00
Auctioneer
Sotheby´s
Event location
United Kingdom, London
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ID 1076574
Lot 51 | Charles Le Brun | La grande galerie de Versailles. Paris, 1752, fine engraved plates in a Padeloup binding
Charles Le Brun

La grande galerie de Versailles et les deux salons qui l’accompagnent, peint par Charles le Brun, premier peintre de Louis XIV, dessinés par Jean-Baptiste Massé, peintre, et gravés sous ses yeux par les meilleurs maîtres du tems. Paris: Imprimerie Royale, 1752

FIRST EDITION, folio (715 x 505mm.), text within decorative frames, 55 COPPER ENGRAVINGS AFTER CHARLES LE BRUN on 52 plates, 23 double-page, all but one of the illustrations coloured by hand, FINE OLIVE GREEN MOROCCO GILT À LA ROCAILLE BY PADELOUP, covers with elaborate gilt frame combining cresting sides with ornate side- and cornerpieces, raised bands, spine gilt, red morocco label, turn-ins with undulating gilt floral roll featuring pomegranates and daffodils, pink watered silk endleaves, gilt edges, without the portraits of Le Brun and Massé added to some copies, occasional browning, rebacked preserving original backstrip, boards slightly sunned

A TALL COPY of a sumptuous work epitomising the extravagant aesthetic of the Sun King. The plates depict the beautiful paintings created by the great French artist Charles Le Brun (1619-1690) for the Palace of Versailles; Louis XIV was so thrilled with this splendid interior decor that he ordered a set of engravings documenting the paintings so he could present it to princes and other dignitaries as a mark of his particular favour. Le Brun had spent the last ten years of his life decorating the walls of the great galleries of Versailles, including the Hall of Mirrors, with paintings that showed the most glorious events in the history of Louis XIV’s reign between the years 1661 and 1678. Jean-Baptiste Massé (1687-1767) spent another eight years perched on scaffolds drawing these paintings for this title, which Cohen-de Ricci deems “a magnificent work that cost Massé much time and effort.”

The engraving of these drawings ‑ by Aubert, Audran, Duflos, Cochin fils, and others ‑ took another twenty years because everything had to be mirror-engraved to make the printed scenes appear exactly as they do in the paintings. The book was then printed by the Imprimerie du Roy, which Ray says “set new standards for bookmaking in France”. The engravings here have been expertly and sensitively coloured by a later hand, bringing the full vibrancy of Le Brun’s frescoes to the plates.

This copy was bound by Antoine-Michel Padeloup (1685-1758), the most outstanding artisan of a famous family of binders. Antoine, the founder of the dynasty, was doing work in the middle of the seventeenth century and was followed by sons Philippe and Michel, both of whom became master binders in 1686. But it was Michel’s son, Antoine-Michel (1685-1758) called “le jeune”, who was the most celebrated member of the family. In 1733, after a period as binder to the King of Portugal, he became binder to Louis XV; his ticket here identifies him as “Relieur du Roy”.
Address of auction Sotheby´s
34-35 New Bond Street
W1A 2AA London
United Kingdom
Preview
28.11.2023
Phone +44 (0) 20 7293 5000
Phone +1 212 606 7000
Email
4FQ.AE2YUKFA@AYGLGHC3Y@
Conditions of purchaseConditions of purchase

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Charles Le Brun | Grand escalier du chateau de Versailles. Paris, [1725], from the library of the Duchesse de Berry
Charles Le Brun | Grand escalier du chateau de Versailles. Paris, [1725], from the library of the Duchesse de Berry
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