.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Jacques Van Oostenrijk, dit Dautriche, maître in 1765.
DAUTRICHE
The Dutchman Jacques van Oostenrijk, dit Dautriche was born in the Netherlands between 1725-1728 and arrived in Paris around 1743. He worked for some 20 years before attaining his maîtrise in 1765 - largely due to the fact that it was difficult for an outsider to amass the requisite fees and meet the stringent requirements of the guild. He worked as an ouvrier libre and in the 1750s worked for such craftsmen as Pierre II Migeon and Denis Genty. After achieving his maîtrise he moved into a more prestigious location in the rue Traversière, moving towards the end of his life to the rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine. Through the marriage of one his children he became allied with Pierre Boichod (ébéniste privilégié du roi) whose establishment was near to that of Joseph Baumhauer, one of the most talented and progressive craftsmen of the period. Dautriche did not become a dealer and spent his entire career as a furniture maker; his most important commission was for the Comte d'Artois for whom he made ten commodes for the Palais du Temple between June and September 1777.
GOÛT GREC
The Wildenstein commode is in the vanguard of furniture in the goût grec style and is clearly inspired by the furniture designed by Louis-Joseph de Lorrain for Lalive de Jully and made by Joseph Baumhauer. It, and the other examples cited by Blaise, are of a strongly architectural outline, with incurved sides, a pair of doors flanked by outset, fluted pilasters above outset block feet. The goût grec style was relatively short-lived; it was inspired by Charles-Nicolas Cochin who published in December 1754 his article 'La supplication aux orfèvres, sculpteurs en bois,' in the Mercure de France. Written on his return from Italy, it bemoaned the excesses of the rococo style and gave birth to the nascent neoclassical style demonstrated in the work of Le Lorrain. This severe reaction lasted only until circa 1765-1770 when, bowing to the criticisms of Blondel and Cochin himself, it gave way to the less aesthetically demanding Transitional style.
Interestingly Joseph Baumhauer made at least one meuble d'appui of very similar design, but with Japanese lacquer side panels from the doors of a Japanese cabinet, and the case fitted with the ten drawers formerly in the Japanese cabinet. Formerly in the collection of the Earls of Warwick and now in a private collection, it is illustrated, A. Pradère, Les Ebénistes Français de Louis XIV à la Révolution, Paris, 1989, p. 241, fig. 247. The unusual laurel baguette mounts to the apron also recall the work of BVRB III, including the lacquer commode sold by the Trustees of the 4th Duke of Westminster, Christie's London, 9 December 2004, lot 100.
MEUBLES D'APPUI BY DAUTRICHE
In his article, 'Jacques Dautriche ébéniste sous Louis XV et Louis XVI', L'Estampille/L'Objet d'Art, July-August, 2001, Morgan Blaise refers to a group of almost twelve such cabinets by Dautriche. Each is of the same architectural design, with a variety of veneers and inlays.
The Wildenstein commode, with its strong architectural form, closely resembles several pieces by Dautriche. These comprise:
- a meuble d'appui sold from the Ricardo Espirito Santo Collection, Ader Picard Tajan, 14 June 1977, lot 122.
- a meuble d'appui sold anonymously, Ader Picard Tajan, 18 March 1980, lot 150.
- a meuble d'appui illustrated in P. Kjellberg, Le Mobilier Français du XVIIIe Siècle, Paris, 1989, p. 222 A.
- a meuble d'appui illustrated ibid., p. 222 B.
- a commode displaying this same trellis parquetry, sold anonymously at Christie's London, 14 December 2000, lot 202 (£223,750)
- and a final commode, without apron mounts, sold from the Agnelli Collection, Sotheby's New York, 23 October 2004, lot 16.
DAUTRICHE
The Dutchman Jacques van Oostenrijk, dit Dautriche was born in the Netherlands between 1725-1728 and arrived in Paris around 1743. He worked for some 20 years before attaining his maîtrise in 1765 - largely due to the fact that it was difficult for an outsider to amass the requisite fees and meet the stringent requirements of the guild. He worked as an ouvrier libre and in the 1750s worked for such craftsmen as Pierre II Migeon and Denis Genty. After achieving his maîtrise he moved into a more prestigious location in the rue Traversière, moving towards the end of his life to the rue du Faubourg Saint-Antoine. Through the marriage of one his children he became allied with Pierre Boichod (ébéniste privilégié du roi) whose establishment was near to that of Joseph Baumhauer, one of the most talented and progressive craftsmen of the period. Dautriche did not become a dealer and spent his entire career as a furniture maker; his most important commission was for the Comte d'Artois for whom he made ten commodes for the Palais du Temple between June and September 1777.
GOÛT GREC
The Wildenstein commode is in the vanguard of furniture in the goût grec style and is clearly inspired by the furniture designed by Louis-Joseph de Lorrain for Lalive de Jully and made by Joseph Baumhauer. It, and the other examples cited by Blaise, are of a strongly architectural outline, with incurved sides, a pair of doors flanked by outset, fluted pilasters above outset block feet. The goût grec style was relatively short-lived; it was inspired by Charles-Nicolas Cochin who published in December 1754 his article 'La supplication aux orfèvres, sculpteurs en bois,' in the Mercure de France. Written on his return from Italy, it bemoaned the excesses of the rococo style and gave birth to the nascent neoclassical style demonstrated in the work of Le Lorrain. This severe reaction lasted only until circa 1765-1770 when, bowing to the criticisms of Blondel and Cochin himself, it gave way to the less aesthetically demanding Transitional style.
Interestingly Joseph Baumhauer made at least one meuble d'appui of very similar design, but with Japanese lacquer side panels from the doors of a Japanese cabinet, and the case fitted with the ten drawers formerly in the Japanese cabinet. Formerly in the collection of the Earls of Warwick and now in a private collection, it is illustrated, A. Pradère, Les Ebénistes Français de Louis XIV à la Révolution, Paris, 1989, p. 241, fig. 247. The unusual laurel baguette mounts to the apron also recall the work of BVRB III, including the lacquer commode sold by the Trustees of the 4th Duke of Westminster, Christie's London, 9 December 2004, lot 100.
MEUBLES D'APPUI BY DAUTRICHE
In his article, 'Jacques Dautriche ébéniste sous Louis XV et Louis XVI', L'Estampille/L'Objet d'Art, July-August, 2001, Morgan Blaise refers to a group of almost twelve such cabinets by Dautriche. Each is of the same architectural design, with a variety of veneers and inlays.
The Wildenstein commode, with its strong architectural form, closely resembles several pieces by Dautriche. These comprise:
- a meuble d'appui sold from the Ricardo Espirito Santo Collection, Ader Picard Tajan, 14 June 1977, lot 122.
- a meuble d'appui sold anonymously, Ader Picard Tajan, 18 March 1980, lot 150.
- a meuble d'appui illustrated in P. Kjellberg, Le Mobilier Français du XVIIIe Siècle, Paris, 1989, p. 222 A.
- a meuble d'appui illustrated ibid., p. 222 B.
- a commode displaying this same trellis parquetry, sold anonymously at Christie's London, 14 December 2000, lot 202 (£223,750)
- and a final commode, without apron mounts, sold from the Agnelli Collection, Sotheby's New York, 23 October 2004, lot 16.