Pierre - François FONTAINE (1762 - 1853) - Lot 305

Lot n° 305
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4000 - 6000 EUR
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Result : 6 500EUR
Pierre - François FONTAINE (1762 - 1853) - Lot 305
Pierre - François FONTAINE (1762 - 1853) Project for the round tent requested by Her Imperial Highness Psse Pauline Bonaparte for the Hôtel de Charost, future residence of the British ambassador. Pen, black ink, gray wash and watercolor. Annotated at the top: Fontaine architecte Titled at bottom. 19 x 28 cm. Provenance : - Charles-André Colonna Walewski Count and Countess Collection Enclosed is a letter from Fontaine dated 4 ventôse An 12 addressed to Mr Michelot (or Michetot) entrepreneur, rue de la Ville Lévêque (Paris). Historical background: Relations between Pierre-Léonard Fontaine (1762-1853) and the beautiful Pauline (1793-1825), Napoleon's favorite sister, appear to have been rather conflictual: in 1815, she had still not paid for the work he had carried out on behalf of her first husband, General Leclerc (1772-1802), who died in Saint-Domingue, at Château de Montgobert. In 1803, the architect designed her late husband's mausoleum for the Princess Borghese, and was naturally entrusted with overseeing the new fittings she ordered for her new Parisian home, the Hôtel de Charost. Built in 1720-1722 by Antoine Mazin for Paul-François de Béthune-Charost, the building, although remodeled by Pierre Patte in 1760, must have seemed somewhat old-fashioned to Pauline, the arbiter of elegance. With the help of her faithful steward Jean-Paul Michelot, who provided her with a daily report on the work in progress, the princess kept a close eye on the construction site on rue du Faubourg Saint-honoré. In the absence of time, and as is the case with most imperial residences, the work concerned only interior fittings, as the hotel's 18th-century facades, in good condition, had to be preserved. It was important, however, to draw visitors' attention to the princely and, after 1804, imperial dignity of the new occupants, right from the main courtyard. As at Malmaison, with the addition of a military tent as a hors d'oeuvre, and at the Hôtel de Beauharnais (now the German Embassy), with that of a neo-Egyptian portico, Fontaine proposed a : Projet de la tente ronde (Project for the round tent), which our drawing preserves. It shows the princess's coat of arms and the façade of her residence. It is not known whether this project was realized, but the urns adorning the porch are very similar to those that still adorn the courtyard of honor of the current British Embassy: "To date, no graphic or drawn document referring to the transformations undertaken has been found "1. The reappearance of our watercolour and the accompanying letter is therefore all the more interesting. It clarifies Fontaine's role on this site, where he was to be supplanted by Pierre-Nicolas Bénard (1753-1816), undoubtedly more accommodating to his imperial patron. Pauline's almost maniacal meticulousness was probably the reason for her disagreement with Fontaine and his replacement. Temporary import The buyer will be required to pay import duties, i.e. 5.5% in addition to the hammer price, unless the object is immediately re-exported outside the European Union. Work in temporary import The buyer will have to pay import fees of 5.5% in addition to the hammer price, unless the buyer immediately re-exports the lot outside the European Union.
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