Louis-Jean Desprez

Gottfried Schaper (1775–1851), Copenhagen,

his sale, 1853, lot 53;

Benjamin Wolff (1790–1866), Copenhagen (L.420),

thence by descent,

sale of his collection, Copenhagen, Bruun Rasmussen Auctioneers, 30 May 2018, lot 431,

where acquired by a Private Collection, New York

Nivå, Nivaagaards Malerisamling, Rediscovered European Drawings, 1983

C. M. Smidt, Tegnekunst på Nivaagaard: Ældre europæiske tegninger af Benjamin Wolffs samling, Nivå 1983, exhib. cat., p. 25, no. 34, reproduced pl. 34

The present drawing, executed on a grand scale and in an ambitious combination of media, depicts the Mass of the Annunciation which took place at the church of Santa Maria sopra Minerva on the 25 March 1784. Celebrated annually on the Feast of the Annunciation, the composition depicts Pope Pius VI Giannangelo Braschi, 1717-1799), assisted by two Cardinals and the Confraternity of the Annunciation, blessing alms and gifts. These gifts were subsequently bestowed upon the future nuns, who are depicted wearing virginal white veils in the foreground of the composition.

King Gustav III of Sweden (1746-1792) attended this exact ceremony in 1784, with the event recorded in Rome's weekly society chronicle, the Diario Ordinario. There is an unusual feature, however, which is that the proceedings have been transposed by Desprez from Santa Maria sopra Minerva to the French titular church of San Luigi dei Francesi. This reimagining likely took place upon account of King Gustav’s close cultural, political and diplomatic relations with France. Likewise, Gustav’s personal friendship with Ambassador Cardinal François-Joachim de Pierre de Bernis (1715-1794), the French Ambassador to The Holy See, may well have contributed to the Swedish King’s admiration for Desprez in the first instance.

Louis-Jean Desprez studied in Paris under the renowned draughtsman and engraver Charles Nicolas Cochin. His early graphic style strongly reflects the influence of masters like Stefano della Bella and Jacques Callot, particularly in their work as etchers. Shortly after being awarded the Grand Prix de Rome in 1777, he was commissioned to help with the illustrations to the Abbé de Saint-Non's Voyage Pittoresque, ou description des royaumes de Naples et de Sicile, along with a number of other young French artists, including Claude-Louis Châtelet.

In late 1783 Desprez's work was first brought to the attention of Gustav III, who was looking for someone to take charge of the stage decorations for the historical dramas he was then planning. There can be little doubt that it was works, such as the present lot, that so beautifully encapsulate Desprez’s theatrical flair, that would have impressed King Gustav III. Enticed by a generous royal offer, Desprez relocated to Sweden in 1784. There, despite initially primitive working conditions and much resentment from the resident Swedish artists, his first designs for the première performance of Queen Christina were a sensation, and for a decade he continued to produce magnificent set designs, architectural plans and historical paintings. Following the assassination of King Gustav in 1792 Desprez's fortunes declined and his attempts to obtain commissions from other European courts failed. He died in penniless obscurity in 1804.