Detail from L'Assemblée au Concert (A Gathering at a Concert) by François-Nicolas-Barthélemy Dequevauviller, after a painting by Niklas Lafrensen, the younger, called Lavreince, late 18th-early 19th century. Dayton C. Miller Collection, Music Division, Library of Congress.
after a painting in gouache by Niklas Lafrensen, the younger, called Lavreince, miniaturist and watercolorist, 1737-1807
In this scene, small musical groups are arranged in an oval interior. The room, with classical architectural details and an oval illusionistically-painted ceiling with putti and garlands in the sky, has a window at the left and a central niche with a relief sculpture of a bell surmounted with an eagle. A statue of a muse with a lyre stands at the left, and another muse with a lute stands at the right. One musical group is in the center of the room, another is at the right, and there is a conversational group at the left. The instruments represented here, from the left, are: a cello or bass viol, harpsichord or piano, transverse flute, violin. A violin lies on the table at the right, and a horn is on the floor. The original gouache painting by Lavreince on which this etching was based, must have been dated after 1773, the year he was named Painter to the King of Sweden, a title that is mentioned in the inscription beneath the etching at the left.
Compared to another copy of this etching in the Miller collection, 219a/Y, this etching is a stronger impression and, though it is painted in the same watercolors of blue, yellow, flesh-color, and light brown, the coloring overall is more vivid here, especially with the addition of greens, reds, and pinks. The plate impression of 219/Y, is slightly larger than 219a/Y, but the dimensions of the image itself are the same. This means the same plate was undoubtedly used for both impressions, though the outer edges of the plate itself must have been trimmed slightly for 219a/Y.
About the Artists
François-Nicolas-Barthélemy Dequevauviller, engraver, 1745-ca. 1807
François-Nicolas-Barthélemy Dequevauviller, the engraver of this etching, L'Assemblée au Concert (A Gathering at a Concert), was a French artist who was born in Abbeville in 1745, and who died in Paris about 1807. He was a student of Jean Daullé (1703-1763), also from Abbeville. From 1781 until 1786, he traveled widely along the coasts of the Mediterranean, visiting Italy and Palestine. He was considered one of the finest engravers of the 18th century, and he produced reproductive prints after the works of several artists, among them the Swedish painter, Niklas Lafrensen the younger, called Lavreince (1737-1807).[1]
Niklas Lafrensen, the younger, called Lavreince, miniaturist and watercolorist, 1737-1807
Niklas Lafrensen the younger, called Lavreince, trained as a miniaturist painter and watercolorist by his father, was from Stockholm. After his father's death in 1756, Lavreince traveled to Paris where he remained for three years. He then traveled to Germany, before returning home to Stockholm, where he became a successful history and portrait painter, and watercolorist. In 1771, he returned to Paris, and he was much influenced by the work of Watteau. His new works were highly successful and his small watercolors, in particular, were much copied by engravers such as Dequevauviller, Isidore-Stanislas Helman (1743-1806/1809), and others. Lavreince returned to Sweden in 1773, where he was honored by being named to the Academy and Painter to the King. He was again in Paris from 1774 until 1791, and this was the period of his greatest success. The turmoil in the years leading up to the French Revolution caused Lavreince to return home once more. In his final years, he completed a series of works on the history of Sweden that he had begun in 1771.[2]
Notes
- The biographical information given here on Dequevauviller is derived from his entry in Bénézit. [back to article]
- The biographical information given here about Lavreince is based on his entry in Bénézit. [back to article]