EUGÈNE-FRANÇOIS DE BLOCK (GRAMONT 1812-1893 ANVERS)

Lot 246
18.05.2022 14:30UTC +01:00
Classic
Vendu
€ 15 120
AuctioneerCHRISTIE'S
Lieu de l'événementFrance, Paris
Archive
La vente aux enchères est terminée. Vous ne pouvez plus enchérir.
Archive
ID 761436
Lot 246 | EUGÈNE-FRANÇOIS DE BLOCK (GRAMONT 1812-1893 ANVERS)
Valeur estimée
€ 15 000 – 25 000
EUGÈNE-FRANÇOIS DE BLOCK (GRAMONT 1812-1893 ANVERS)Portrait de trois-quarts de Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882)localisé, daté et signé 'Peint d'après nature / à Caprera, mars 1868 / Eug. de Block' (en bas, à gauche)inscrit 'Sans prêtres la / fraternité des peuples / Sera possible - Avec les prêtres / jamais ! / Caprera, 25 Mars 1868 / G. Garibaldi' (en haut, à droite)huile sur toile, dans son cadre d'origine141 x 93,5 cm (55 1⁄2 x 36 3⁄4 in.) Provenance Commandé à Eugène-François de Block (1812-1893) par la société 'La libre pensée', Bruxelles, Belgique.Collection particulière, Belgique. Literature J. Rousseau, 'Belgique - (Correspondance particulière) Bruxelles', Journal des Beaux-Arts et de la Littérature, 15 décembre 1867, neuvième année, 23, p. 187. H. H. '(Correspondance particulière) Bruxelles', Journal des Beaux-Arts et de la Littérature, 15 juin 1868, dixième année, 11, p. 83-84. L'Écho du Parlement Belge, 15 septembre 1868, 259 (selon l'article de 1931, op. cit. infra). L'Écho du Parlement Belge, 6 octobre 1868, 277 (selon l'article de 1931, op. cit. infra).Le Nouvelliste de Gand, 14 septembre 1868, 258 (selon l'article de 1931, op. cit. infra).Les Nouvelles du Jour, 22 septembre 1868, 266 (selon l'article de 1931, op. cit. infra).Le Précurseur, 20 octobre 1868, 294 (selon l'article de 1931, op. cit. infra).L'Etoile belge, 8 août 1869, 220 (selon l'article de 1931, op. cit. infra).Jjournal des Beaux-Arts et de la Littérature, 31 août 1869, 16 (selon l'article de 1931, op. cit. infra).Chronique belge des arts et de la curiosité, 20 août 1869, 23 (selon l'article de 1931, op. cit. infra).M. Battistini, 'Documenti italiani all'estero. Lettere inedite di G. Garibaldi', Giornale storico e letterario della Liguria, janvier-juin 1929, cinquième année, fasc. I-II, p. 47. M. Battistini, 'Due ignorati ritratti di Mazzini e di Garibaldi nel Belgio', Giornale storico e letterario della Liguria, 1931, 2, pp. 311-324. A. Estermann, Deutsche Roman-Zeitung (1864-1880 [-1925]), Berlin, 1995, VI, p. 56. Exhibited Bruxelles, Exposition générale des beaux-arts, 1868, n°291.Gand, casino de Gand, XXVIIe Exposition nationale et triennale de Gand. Salon de 1868, n°220.Bruxelles, Exposition triennale, 1869, n°226. Special notice This item will be transferred to an offsite warehouse after the sale. Please refer to department for information about storage charges and collectiondetails. Post lot text EUGÈNE-FRANÇOIS DE BLOCK, THREE-QUARTER LENGTH PORTRAIT OF GIUSEPPE GARIBALDI (1807-1882), OIL ON CANVAS, IN ITS ORIGINAL FRAME, LOCATED, SIGNED AND DATEDA central figure in the Italian Risorgimento along with Camillo Cavour (1810-1861), Victor-Emmanuel II (1820-1878) and Giuseppe Mazzini (1805-1872), whose military campaigns enabled the unification of Italy, Giuseppe Garibaldi (1807-1882) was also politically engaged in Latin America and Europe, earning him the sobriquet of ‘Hero of the two worlds’. His notoriety at the time is considerable, both within the Italian peninsula and internationally. He is particularly admired by the romantic writers of the time, such as George Sand (1804-1876) and Victor Hugo (1802-1885), who provide him with important media coverage. It is within this context that the members of the Belgian society ‘La libre pensée’, commission from the painter Eugène-François de Block (1812-1893), a portrait, after life, of the hero of the Italian unification as a sign of their support of the Roman question (M. Battistini, 1929, op. cit., p. 47). In our painting, the general addresses the following message, inscribed on the top right, to his French speaking allies : ‘Without priests, a fraternity of the people will be possible. With the priests, never !’ (‘Sans prêtres la fraternité des peuples sera possible. Avec les prêtres, jamais !’). In order to meet the demands of his patrons, the painter spent two months on the Sardinian island of Caprera, Garibaldi’s last home, to capture our model’s likeness (J. Rousseau, op. cit., p. 187). Shortly beforehand, the Belgian painter had executed in London a portrait of Giuseppe Mazzini, another key figure of the Italian independence movement. These two portraits were subsequently exhibited together several times both in Brussels and in Gent. The press articles of the time are a testimony to the positive reaction, from both the public and the critics, that the paintings received upon their exhibition. The inscription received particular attention, with some commentators seeing the model’s very own handwriting: ‘The Garibaldian inscription, written in French and in the hero’s most beautiful handwriting, is conceived in these menacing terms […]’ (‘L’inscription garibaldienne, écrite tout au long en français, et de la plus belle écriture du héros, est conçue en ces termes menaçants […]’). Nearly fourty years later, the historian Mario Battistini (1885-1953) dedicated several articles to these two portraits. Based on newspaper clippings, he retraced their history, claiming to have localized them in the meeting room of the Antwerp society of free thinkers. However, an inspection of these paintings reveals that there are several compositional discrepancies, and the lack of an inscription on Garibladi’s painting suggests, to him, that the pictures were overpainted. The rediscovery of our painting allows us to postulate that the portrait found by Battistini is a diluted copy of our picture.
Adresse de l'enchère CHRISTIE'S
9 Avenue Matignon
75008 Paris
France
Aperçu
18.05.2022 – 18.05.2022
Téléphone +33 (0)1 40 76 85 85
Fax +33 (0)1 40 76 85 86
E-mail
Conditions d'utilisationConditions d'utilisation
transport Service postal
Service de messagerie
ramassage par vous-même
Modes de paiement Virement bancaire
Heures d'ouvertureHeures d'ouverture
Lu 09:00 – 00:00    00:00 – 18:00
Ma 09:00 – 00:00    00:00 – 18:00
Me 09:00 – 00:00    00:00 – 18:00
Je 09:00 – 00:00    00:00 – 18:00
Ve 09:00 – 00:00    00:00 – 18:00
Sa fermé
Di fermé

Termes connexes