Officer and Gentleman in the 19Th Century, the Horace His

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Officer and Gentleman in the 19th Century, The Horace His de La Salle Collection by Marlène Pegliasco #PARIS The French public collections of drawings would not have their importance without the taste and passion of great personalities. Little known to the general public, Aimé Charles Horace His de la Salle (1795-1878) was an enlightened art lover, collecting beautiful leaves, antique bronzes and master paintings. A rich collection that he donated to several museums: the Museum of Fine Arts in Dijon, Alençon and Lyon took advantage of it but also the Louvre Museum which received 21 paintings and nearly 450 drawings. In fact, the Parisian museum is honouring this art lover until 10 February 2020 in an exhibition featuring the graphic arts. An opportunity to discover the wise taste of a 19th century gentleman as well as the determining role of his gifts, the beauty of which can be admired by the public today. The art critic Charles Ephrussi (1849-1905) considered the collection of Horace His de la Salle as "an exquisite and complete summary of the most beautiful and pure things that drawing has produced from the 16th century to the present day". The delicate art of drawing quickly catches the attention of the amateur. Lieutenant under Louis XVIII, Horace His de la Salle left the army in 1826 to follow his sick mother, Hélène de Montgeroult, a talented musician, to Italy. He formed friendships with other art enthusiasts, including the collector Frédéric Reiset, curator and director of the Louvre, and Count Thibaudeau. Researching the drawings of the Italian Renaissance or collecting drawings of his contemporaries, Horace His de la Salle created an eclectic collection reflecting the major themes of each period. Italian landscapes, military or genre scenes, or orientalizing subjects, he succumbed to this delicate and precious art that praises the diversity of techniques. Drawings by Pierre-Paul Prudh'on, Théodore Géricault or Antoine Girodet mingle with the Italian school (His de la Salle had two drawings by Leonardo da Vinci), the Dutch and Flemish 17th century school (Rubens and Jordaens) as well as a fine ensemble by Nicolas Poussin. Among the works on display, this superb "Mameluk Holding a Horse" by Theodore Géricault, where the black stone reveals numerous sketches of the animal and the white gouache highlights bring light to the scene, or this delicate "Head of the Virgin" by Florentine Francesco Botticini (who was the assistant of the artist Neri di Bicci), executed with different techniques (pen, brown ink and silver point). The visitor can thus revel in the diversity of interests of Horace His de la Salle, who sought to acquire throughout his life the exemplary leaves of the greatest artists of the 16th to 19th centuries. Officer and Gentleman in the 19th Century The Horace His de La Salle CollectionUntil February 10, 2020 Musée du LouvreRotonde Sully North and South Sully 13 Jan 2020 #Gravure #Collection #Pierre Noire #smArty Choice

copyright: Théodore Géricault, Mamelouk retenant un cheval, département des Arts graphiques, musée du Louvre © RMN-Grand Palais (musée du Louvre)/Daniel Arnaudet

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