Christian Wilhelm Ernest Dietrich (1712-1774)

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Christian Wilhelm Ernest Dietrich (1712-1774)
Joseph telling his dreams; Joseph's tunic worn by Jacob Oil on canvas; a pair. 73.5 x 62 cm. Signed and dated, lower right: Dietricj, 1762 Presented in two sumptuous Louis XVI period frames, gilded with three golds, decorated with falling and ribboned laurel garlands, rotating rosettes, and crowned with olive branches. Provenance : - Collection of Frederick Augustus of Saxony, elector then king of Saxony (1750-1827), in Dresden. - Given by the latter, on August 4, 1781, to Louis Auguste Le Tonnelier, baron de Breteuil (1730-1807). - Seized as "emigrant's goods" and stored, in 1794, in the deposit of Nesle, - Put at the disposal, on June 17, 1796, of Dominique-Vincent Ramel (1760-1829), minister of Finances of the Directory, - Hung, in 1812, Restituted, after 1820, to Angélique Elisabeth, countess of Goyon-Matignon (1757-1833) born Le Tonnelier de Breteuil, only daughter of the baron de Breteuil. - His daughter, Anne Louise Caroline, duchess of Montmorency (1774-1846), born Goyon de Matignon. - Then by descent until today. The pair of paintings that we are fortunate enough to be able to present has been dormant for several generations. It was nevertheless admired by the court of Louis XVI when the Elector of Saxony made a gift of it, in 1781, to the Baron de Breteuil, the French ambassador whose influence was crucial in negotiating the peace of Teschen between Prussia and Austria, whose rivalries could set Europe ablaze. The "electoral" gift consisted of the sumptuous table by Neuber, today in the Louvre (0A12547), accompanied by our two paintings, which a small audience of privileged people could discover in the Pavillon du Mail, in Saint-Cloud, that the baron had received as a gift from Louis XVI. It should have escaped no one that the decoration of the sumptuous frames corresponded to that of the precious table. Seized during the Revolution as "émigré property", they sat in the office of the Secretary General of the Ministry of Finance, before the Baron's only daughter, the Countess of Matignon, developed a treasure trove of diplomacy, multiplying requests from 1812 to 1820, and had them returned to her. Mature works by Christian Wilhelm Dietrich, the great painter of the Dresden rocaille, dated 1762, they illustrate the Story of Joseph: Joseph recounting his dreams, and Joseph's cloak carried to his father Jacob. Dietrich, a painter whose heart always had a tender inflection for Watteau's fêtes galantes, shows here his second passion: Rembrandt. Through our two episodes of the Story of Joseph, Dietrich, brilliant pasticheur, delivers his answer to two engravings of the Dutch master, of the same subject (Musée du Louvre, collection Edmond de Rothschild, 2354 LR/ Recto and 2355 LR/ Recto). Bibliography: - Chevalier de La Gravière, letter to the Chancellery, January 1, 1780, Archives du Ministère des Affaires Étrangères, CP Saxe électorale et royale 68 fol. 251: "While going with the diplomatic corps to do my court to the Elector, I saw in his Audience cabinet a superb mosaic table made of all the kinds of stones which are found in the Saxon States. This table which is very rich and of a very invaluable work is intended for m. the baron de Breteuil. M. le comte Marcolini did me the honor of telling me that his electoral highness would have some rare paintings by Dietrich attached to it." - Angélique de Mackau, marquise de Bombelles, letter to her husband, August 6, 1781, Archives des Yvelines, cote E 426/427: "[le baron de Breteuil] a reçu, il y a deux jours, un fort beau présent de la cour de Saxe à l'occasion de la paix de Teschen. They are two paintings and a table that is said to be superb, mounted wonderfully with very precious stones; on the table, there are several emblems of peace and a Latin inscription that reads: "to the peacemaker Breteuil"." - "Registre du Dépôt de Nesle", 19 July 1794, in Archives de l'Art Français, Paris 2021, 2 vols; vol.1, p.220; vol.2, p.746 : " N°6 Two paintings subjects of the Old Testament, in the style of Rembrandt, by Dietrechy, about 30 inches high by 24 long " - Angélique Elisabeth, comtesse de Goyon-Matignon, letter to the baron Vivant Denon, 26 September 1812, Archives Nationales F/17/1058. "There are in the anteroom before the cabinet of the secretary gal of Finances, M Amabert, two paintings which belong to me, having been taken from my late father; his two paintings painted by Dietrick, represent, the one the dream of Joseph, the other fesant pendant, the brothers of Joseph bringing back to their father the dress of Joseph. His paintings were given to my father by the Elector of Saxony (now King) at the time of the peace of Techen of which my father was mediator as ambassador of France in Vienna... " - Jean-Baptiste de Nompère de Champ
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