La galerie electorale de Dusseldorff : ou, catalogue raisonne et figure de ses tableaux..., 1770-1778.

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Pigage, Nicolas de, 1723-1796. La galerie electorale de Dusseldorff : ou, catalogue raisonne et figure de ses tableaux..., 1770-1778.

La galerie electorale de Dusseldorff : ou, catalogue raisonne et figure de ses tableaux..., 1770-1778.

http://www.worldcat.org/oclc/81773272

The collection is comprised of two volumes of drawings that represent the notable collection of Italian and Dutch Old Master paintings housed in the Dusseldorff Gallery around 1700, as well as manuscript papers, proof pages and a printed catalog of the Dusseldorff collection. The printed version of the catalog was published in 1778 under the direction of Pigage. Box 1 contains Vol. I (sixty loose leaves with drawings attached): 149 numbered and often signed pencil drawings by Joseph August Brulliot, Jean-Victor Frédou de la Bretonnière and Georg Metellus of the paintings in the collection, chronicling the artist, title, size and location of the work in the gallery. Further descriptions and explanations of the rooms and walls, or scales, are sometimes included. Occasional variations, including more finished representations in red crayon, also appear. Following these are 347 small pen and ink drawings of the paintings, representing their relative positions on the gallery walls; these drawings correspond to the engravings reproduced in the published catalogue. Also housed in Box 1 are manuscript papers that provide a written inventory of works. Box 2 contains Vol. II (148 leaves, drawings tipped-in; armorial binding): 359 numbered and usually signed red crayon, or pen, ink and watercolor drawings (some loose) by Brulliot, Frédou de la Bretonnière and Metellus of the paintings in the collection. These were subsequently engraved under the supervision of Christian von Mechel for the published catalog. The proof catalog is housed in Box 3 and contains uncut sheets of text and plates, as well as drawings in ink, wash and pencil used for the printed illustrations for the final version of the publication. The proof includes drawings and plates in multiple states. In Box 4 is a copy of the resulting published catalog (1778). The catalog includes an inventory of the paintings in the Dusseldorf Gallery organized by room; an index of painters; and printed reproductions of the artworks based on engravings that correspond to the drawing volumes I and II.

4 boxes with printed and mss material.

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