Antoine François Sergent-Marceau’s colour aquatint. “Mr Necker”, after Joseph Siffred Duplessis

Antoine François Sergent-Marceau (aka Antoine Louis François Sergent) (1751–1847)

The British Museum offers the following biographical details about this artist: “Colour aquatinter, pupil of Augustin de Saint-Aubin; major figure in Terror during French Revolution. B. Antoine-Louis Sergent, he married the sister of General François Séverin Marceau and after Marceau's heroic death in 1798 took the name as Sergent-Marceau” (https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/term/BIOG45898).

“Mr Necker”—portrait of Louis XVI’s Finance Minister, Jacques Necker (1752–1804), whose dismissal on 11 July 1789 paved the way to the storming of the Bastille, 1789, after a painting of the same composition by Joseph Siffred Duplessis (aka Joseph Siffrein Duplessis) (1725–1802) and after the intermediary design by Augustin de Saint-Aubin (1736–1807) (see https://www.britishmuseum.org/collection/object/P_1868-0822-7378), printed by Chappuy (fl.1789), published in Paris by Augustin de Saint-Aubin and Antoine François Sergent-Marceau.

Colour aquatint and etching printed on cream wove paper trimmed with a small margin around the image borderline and backed with a support sheet.

Size: (support sheet) 43.3 x 34.2 cm; (sheet) 23 x 16.8 cm; (image borderline) 20.4 x 14.2 cm.

Lettered in plate below the image borderline: (centre) “Gravé d’après le Tableau Original de M. Duplessis Peintre du Roi, sous la direction de M.de S^t.Aubin, Graveur du Roi, par An.Fs.Sergent/ 1789/ A Paris chez M.de S^t.Aubin, rue des Prouvaires, N^o.54, Et chez M^r. Sergent rue Mauconseil, N^o.62.”; (right) “Imprimé par Chappuy”.

LeBlanc 10 (Charles Le Blanc 1888, “Manuel de l'amateur d'estampes, contenant un dictionnaire des graveurs de toutes les nations: ouvrage destiné à faire suite au Manuel du libraire par J.Ch. Brunet”, vol. 3, Paris, p. 492, cat. no. 10); Nagler Künstlerlexikon 2 (Georg Kaspar Nagler 1840, “Neues allgemeines Künstler-Lexicon oder Nachrichten von dem Leben und den Werken der Maler, Bildhauer, Kupferstecher, Formschneider, Lithographen: Sole, G.G.–Surugue, L”, vol. 16, München, Fleischmann, p.282, cat. no. 2).

The Rijksmuseum offers a description of this print: http://hdl.handle.net/10934/RM0001.COLLECT.175086

Condition: a strong and well-printed impression, trimmed with a small margin around the image borderline and laid onto a support of archival (millennium quality) washi paper providing larger margins. The margin corners have been restored/replenished and there is scattered light foxing, otherwise sheet is in a good condition with no tears holes, folds, or significant stains.

I am selling this amazing portrait of a key figure leading up to the storming of the Bastille and ultimately the French Revolution, executed in glowing colour aquatint by another noteworthy artist during the terror of the French Revolution, for AU$232 in total (currently US$161.13/EUR160.57/GBP137.14 at the time of posting this listing) including postage and handling to anywhere in the world, but not (of course) any import duties/taxes imposed by some countries.

If you are interested in purchasing this very rare aquatint, please contact me (oz_jim@printsandprinciples.com) and I will send you a PayPal invoice to make the payment easy.