“It was a piece of furniture…”: as part of a heritage inventory, Maître Cécile Solibieda, auctioneer in Orléans (Loiret), made this unexpected discovery. “I was called by the heirs to take an inventory of the furniture belonging to the Château de Villebourgeon (Loir-et-Cher). It was there for the first time that I saw very large paintings depicting massacre scenes,” he said.
Hanging since the mid-19th century, the painting is literally “a piece of furniture.” “The owner had no idea of its value. It had been a family heirloom since the 1860s, no longer attracting much attention. There was very little lighting, inside the stairwell was dark and five meters high. »
After it was taken down, the painting was entrusted to the Paris firm of Turquin, who connected it with Laurent de La Hyre (1606-1656), a major figure in French classical painting. “For us, originally it was a French school of the 17th century, with the requirement of showing it to specialists,” continues Master Cécile Solibieda. And it was Turquin’s company that made the connection. The former director of the painting department at the Louvre identified in detail the motif of the painting which was identical to the work by La Hyre kept at Notre-Dame de Paris. »
In good condition, even though it is centuries old
These striking chiaroscuro scenes contrast with the more peaceful and austere style that would characterize the artist’s maturity. “This is a youthful masterpiece, created when he was about twenty years old,” explains Master Solibieda. “We saw the passion and energy that would later disappear from his paintings. It was moving to observe this evolution, this special vitality of youth,” he admits with great emotion.
This painting, which is approximately 2.70 m wide and 2.04 m high, is still well preserved. “It requires no restoration, just a protective varnish to stabilize the surface. For a work of this age, this is extraordinary,” explained the auctioneer. It is estimated at between 500,000 and 700,000 euros.
Prior to the November 15 sale, Orléans Madeleine Auction House is offering two public exhibitions (November 13 and 14 from 10 am to 8 pm, and the morning of the sale from 9 am to 11:30 am). The conference given by Vladimir Nestorov, doctor of art history, will also take place on Friday November 14 at 7 pm. in the study, to explain the importance of painting in La Hyre’s work and, more broadly, in 17th-century French painting.
