Louis DUPRE (1789-1837)

Lot 11
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Estimation :
1500 - 2000 EUR
Louis DUPRE (1789-1837)
"A Giahour", Self-portrait, Rome, 1821 Black stone and watercolour on paper 20 x 14 cm. Signed, located and dated, lower right: L.Dupré Rome 1821 Titled lower centre: Un Giahour ("An Infidel") A pupil of David, appointed official painter to Jerome Bonaparte in 1811, Louis Dupré received a pension in 1814 to study in Italy where he stayed between Naples and Rome. There he met three British art lovers, Hyett, Hay and Vivian, who gave him the opportunity to travel to Greece in February 1819. "Familiar with the history and masterpieces of Greece from my earliest years and under the guidance of the illustrious David, I had dreamed of this trip as a child; Later on, I felt my desire growing, when, brought by my studies in Italy, I was able, in the midst of so many different works, to compare the ancient with the modern, to compare imitations with models, and, by this comparison, to convince myself of the superiority which, in their very mutilation, these remains of antiquity still retain over the fine works of the great masters of the Renaissance". The journey to Greece is, in his words, a necessary pilgrimage for "every man who loves or cultivates the arts", to "this sacred land which saw their birth and their glory". His companions offer him "honourable arrangements", his journey being paid for and a large sum to be handed over to him on his return. Dupré spent three months in Greece, notably at the home of the French consul Fauvel, of whom he painted a famous portrait (fig.2), followed by three more months in Turkey. On his return to Rome in April 1820, Dupré decided to publish an account of his trip. "Voyage à Athènes et à Constantinople" was published, from 1825 to 1839, in ten issues, each consisting of pages of text and four plates, reproduced from the drawings and watercolours that the artist regularly sent to the Salon (from 1824 to 1837). Regarded as "certainly the most beautiful work ever done on Greece and Turkey". (
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