FRENCH SCHOOL OF THE XVIIth Century La pipée... - Lot 35 - Osenat

Lot 35
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12000 - 15000 EUR
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Result : 15 625EUR
FRENCH SCHOOL OF THE XVIIth Century La pipée... - Lot 35 - Osenat
FRENCH SCHOOL OF THE XVIIth Century La pipée aux oiseaux ou Chasse à la chouette Canvas Height : 204 cm Width : 113 cm Old restorations Long inscription at the bottom : Of all the ages of all the countries the most learned, and those who must be the wisest let themselves be taken in glue when they see a beautiful woman. The little kingfisher that is blue is the child of heart that represents youth and music. The goldfinch is a painter. The rooster is a poet, he is crowned with laurel and holds a feather. The jay with its hat and flap is a minister. Above is an owl it is the Persian. The eagle with its helmet is a warrior. The nightingale of India which is red with its turban, it is a Turkish priest. The turkey chicken that does cartwheels is known to everyone. The parrot is a doctor. Below ? the one taken by the wing is a lord of the fair Saint Laurent. The peacock is a Spaniard. The magpie is a doctor of law. The rabbit who has a frock his feet are his mule. The pheasant with his little collar and his blond wig, is more happy than all the others he is listened to and is not taken to the glue with which all the trees of alen-tour and the small skewers are rubbed. The gentleman holds a cat which means frippery, shows with his finger that they all let themselves be taken by the eyes. The satirist, half hidden in the leaves, represents the debauchery, he pulls the beautiful one by the foot, he wants her to take and she doesn't let herself be taken. The beautiful holds a mirror to mark that a beautiful must have prudence. 23 May 1737. This surprising composition, of which there are several copies or revivals, takes place in a pleasant garden but the speech that it asserts is not as delicious as it seems. It is advisable to decipher our painting in the light of an engraving by Giacomo Franco, published in the 16th century, probably in Venice, the city where this draughtsman and engraver was active. The quatrain in old Italian accompanying the engraving can be translated as follows: "Flee from the nets of a pleasant and seductive face, lest the Devil, with the call of the civetta, catch you in his traps". A live owl was often used in the 17th century to catch small birds with glue traps. In our painting, the gallant woman is used as bait by the devil. The man on the right holds a cat, symbol of prudence, and by the gesture of the finger he brings to his eye mocks the devil and his tricks. The engraving seems to have had a prolonged success in time since several paintings are inspired by it, adapting the fashion or the identity of the characters, or the speeches accompanying the works according to the time in which they were painted. In an article published in 1907 Paul Perdrizet elaborates a list of four paintings representing the same subject. The author demonstrates that this subject is "a moralization whose point is directed against women of bad life". All cultures and religions are represented in the truculent portraits that cover the bodies of birds. Real portraits were sometimes executed as is the case in the version in the Besançon Museum of Fine Arts and Archaeology which illustrates the scandal of Jean-Baptiste Girard, Jesuit rector of the seminary of Toulon, who was accused in 1730 of having seduced a young girl and was exonerated after long debates in the parliament. 1 - Paul Perdrizet, " La Chasse à la Chouette, Contribution à l'histoire de la peinture Satirique ", in Revue de l'Art Ancien et Moderne, Paris, August 1907, pp. 143-150
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