[Spontini, Gaspare. (1774-1851)] Hersent, Louis. (1777-1860)
Study for a Portrait - ORIGINAL DRAWING
Finely executed delicate pencil drawing, squared for transfer in pencil; inscribed, lower centre: Spontini and signed, lower right: Hersent. 150 by 110 mm; 5⅞ by 4⅜ in. Hinged to a mount, some yellowing to the sheet, pencil in predominantly good condition. Provenance: renowned collector of French art, Muriel Butkin; Cleveland Museum of Art (deaccession).
Widely regarded as Hersent's chef-d'œuvre, the painted portrait of Spontini for which the present drawing is a detailed study, is dated 1821 and is housed at the Castle of Bourbilly (Burgundy), an 1826 copy of the same gifted by the composer to the Pinacoteca of the municipality of Jesi, adjacent to his birthplace of Maiolati. In the painting, Spontini is sitting in front of a piano with sheet music, resting a hand on the keyboard in the same position as shown here, well-dressed and showing the decorations received during his illustrious career. Written with the encouragement of Empress Joséphine, the composer's masterpiece La Vestale (The Vestal Virgin) received its premiere at the Opéra in Paris on December 15, 1807 established Spontini as one of the greatest Italian composers of his age. His contemporaries Cherubini and Meyerbeer considered it a masterpiece, and it was admired greatly by Berlioz and Wagner.
A pupil of David, the artist Louis Hesent obtained the Prix de Rome in 1797. He showed in the Salon of 1802 and continued to exhibit with rare interruptions up to 1831 and instructing many important artists including Auguste Bigand, Eugène Modeste Edmond Lepoittevin, Auguste Dominique Mennessier, Henry de Triqueti etc. His most considerable works under the empire include An Incident of the life of Fénelon, painted in 1810, (Malmaison), and Passage of the Bridge at Landshut, now at Versailles. Hersent's typical works, however, belong to the period of the Restoration; Louis XVI relieving the Afflicted (Versailles) and Daphnis and Chloë were both in the Salon of 1817. Ruth, produced in 1822, became the property of Louis XVIII, who from the moment that Hersent rallied to the Restoration jealously patronized him, made him officer of the Legion of Honour, and pressed his claims at the Institut de France (Académie des Beaux-Arts), where he replaced van Spaendonck. He continued in favour under Charles X, for whom was executed Monks of Mount St Gotthard, exhibited in 1824. In 1831, Hersent made his last appearance at the Salon with portraits of Louis Philippe, Marie Amélie and the duke of Montpensier. (20518)
Opera Art & Design Art