Attributed to Henry Ferguson (The Hague, 1665 - Toulouse, 17 - Lot 27

Lot 27
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Estimation :
1500 - 2000 EUR
Attributed to Henry Ferguson (The Hague, 1665 - Toulouse, 17 - Lot 27
Attributed to Henry Ferguson (The Hague, 1665 - Toulouse, 1730) Architectural Caprice with a Grotto by a Bay and Ancient Bas-reliefs Oil on its original canvas 36 x 44,5 cm Early 18th century In a beautiful Louis XIV period carved and gilded frame Born in Holland, son of the Scottish game painter William Gouw Ferguson, - with whom he has often been confused - Henry Ferguson remains little known, despite the presence of his works in various museums. This singular artist was active in England and France before settling in Toulouse where he married the daughter of the Languedoc painter Jean-Baptiste Despax. It is known that he had the opportunity to collaborate with Antoine Watteau. His works are characterized by a kind of dark romanticism before its time, by a dark aspect that is reinforced by the presence of caves with sepulchral lighting, rocky walls that are cut by an arch through which appears a temple or, as here, a bay. Another distinctive feature is the obsessive citation of ancient remains, steles, tombs, capitals, obelisks, which testify to a "science of antiquity" no doubt acquired during a stay in Rome. We can thus recognize on our painting the bas-relief with Love and Psyche which adorns a painting by Ferguson from the former Authamayou collection in Toulouse (catalog of the exhibition Les collectionneurs toulousains du XVIIIe siècle, 2001, page 156). The gigantic urn next to a cluster of sculptures, the intense blue of the sea bay, the swans drawing white arabesques in contrast, create a surreal effect before its time.
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