Description
This print is considerably rare; extant examples are in various leading collections in both the United States. and Europe, including the Stanford’s Bibliothèque Nationale de France collection, the British Museum, and Museum of the French Revolution in Vizille, France. Although the name of the artist Jean Philippe Guy Le Gentil, Comte de Paroy (1750-1824), does not appear on the credit line of this print, all these institutions attribute the print to him as artist and engraver. Their attribution in turn traces to Carl de Vinck (1859-1931), a Belgian diplomat known in part for his fine collection of prints of the Ancien Régime, and Auguste Lesouëf, a 19th-century French print collector, both of whom credited Le Gentil.
The setting of the engraving — the prison for the French royal family — is of unique historical significance. Originally a fortress built by the Knights Templar in Paris in the twelfth century, the Tower of the Temple often changed hands during various times of political and social upheaval in Paris. Nestled in the heart of the modern Marais, the stronghold was used by Hospitallers of St-John of Jerusalem for four centuries before being seized again by French Revolutionaries in the 18th century. The fortress was chosen as a suitable prison for the French royal family — Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, their two children, and the King’s sister Madame Élisabeth —between 1792 and 1794. During this time, Louis XVI, Marie Antoinette and Madame Élisabeth were publicly guillotined. The boy depicted in the print, Louis XVII, Dauphin of France, died from tuberculosis at the age of 10 during their imprisonment. Only Marie-Therese, daughter of the King and Queen, survived her three-year imprisonment at the Tower of the Temple.
The aristocratic artist Le Gentil presumably created this work as a nostalgic depiction of the Ancien Régime — the lost social and political system of pre-Revolutionary France ruled by the king — as conveyed through an intimate father-son exchange. As such, the image belongs to an extensive body of French Revolutionary era etchings and engravings documenting the political turmoil of the time. It can be posited that the book on the desk about Charles I of England, and the geographic references to England highlighted on the map and globe, alludes to an earlier monarch also executed in a populist uprising.
From another point of view, this print is now of particular interest in showing the private, multi-disciplinary education of a child prior to the French Revolution. King Louis XVI’s instruction of his son relies heavily on a world globe on a fancy stand. At this time only the children of royalty and aristocrats would have access to such an instrument for their geography education. Later in the 19th century, globes became more widely available in schoolrooms for public education, and no longer were just the province of the wealthy classes. This is particularly in the United States where by the 1830s there was a strong movement for object learning through use of a globe.
The artist, Jean Philippe Guy Le Gentil, Comte de Paroy (1750-1824) was an aristocrat who experienced first-hand the French Revolution and the breakdown of French aristocratic social life, economic stability, and political influence. After an early military career, Le Gentil turned to arts and studied at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, focusing on painting, medal-making and etching. He found acclaim as a printmaker, studying under French engraver and balloonist Jean-Francois Janinet, and was a close friend of the painter Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, who ran one of the leading artist salons in Paris. Le Gentil specialized in miniatures, contributing to the prolific decorative arts of the Ancien Régime, including patterns for aristocratic items such as sweet boxes, snuffboxes, and embellished clothing. Most of Le Gentil’s decorative etchings have not survived; however, a few can be found in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art and the National Gallery of Art in the United States.
Condition: Generally very good overall, recently professionally cleaned and deacidified with only light remaining toning, handling, and wear.
References:
British Museum. “Louis Seize S’Occupant de L’Education de son Fils Dans La Tour Du Temple.” British Museum Print Collection Online. https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1988-1001-46 (24 September 2024).
“Carl de Vinck de Deux-Orp,” Wikipedia. 28 June 2024. https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Carl_de_Vinck_de_Deux-Orp&oldid=1231555036 (24 September 2024).
“Jean-Philippe Le Gentil, Comte de Paroy (1750 – 1824): Two Designs for Pedestal Tables: mosaic of La Fontaine’s Fables and mosaic of archetypes from Antiquity – 1789.” Sara Sauvin: Old Master and Modern Prints. 2024.
https://www.sarah-sauvin.com/index.php?option=com_virtuemart&view=productdetails&virtuemart_product_id=412&virtuemart_category_id=202&lang=en (24 September 2024).
Lesouëf, Auguste. “Archives et Documents.” Iconography from the collection of the Bibliothèque nationale de France: Stanford University Libraries French Revolutionary Images Collection Online. https://exhibits.stanford.edu/frenchrevolution/catalog?f%5Bauthor_person_facet%5D%5B%5D=Lesoue%CC%88f%2C+Auguste%2C+1829-1906&f%5Btopic_facet%5D%5B%5D=Archives+et+documents&page=13&view=gallery (24 September 2024).
Metropolitan Museum of Art. “Bacchanal.” Metropolitan Museum of Art Collection Online: Drawings and Prints. 2000-2024. https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/388803 (24 September 2024).
National Gallery of Art. “Jean-Philippe-Guy Le Gentil, Comte de Paroy.” National Gallery of Art Collection Online. https://www.nga.gov/collection/artist-info.34797.html (24 September 2024).
Stanford University. “Louis Seize S’Occupant de L’Education de son Fils Dans La Tour Du Temple.” Iconography from the collection of the Bibliothèque nationale de France: Stanford University Libraries French Revolutionary Images Collection Online.
https://exhibits.stanford.edu/fr/frenchrevolution/catalog/vf298zc2677 (24 September 2024).
“Square du Temple – Quartier du Temple.” Travel France Online. 2010-2024. https://www.travelfranceonline.com/square-du-temple-quartier-du-temple/ (24 September 2024).
Teeuwisse, Nicolaas. “JEAN-PHILIPPE-GUY LE GENTIL, COMTE DE PAROY.” Catalogues: Selected Prints IX. https://www.teeuwisse.de/catalogues/jean-philippe-guy-le-gentil-comte-de-paroy-frieze-with-satyrs-maenads-and-putti (24 September 2024).