(Liège 1758–1835 Paris)
The ruins of a Roman palace, signed and dated at lower left Pieter De Lafontaine f. a Paris 1783, oil on canvas, 52 x 64 cm, framed

Provenance: English Noble Collection (Cambridgeshire).

This architectural composition, which was only recently rediscovered in an English private collection, shows Lafontaine, who is almost exclusively known for church interiors from the Restoration period, at the acme of Neo-Classical style. The present composition is certainly inspired from Ledoux’s fantastic architectural settings, but also by works of Hubert Robert. The figures in the present painting may have been done by Martin Drolling, who frequently collaborated with Lafontaine. The painting dates from 1783, long before the painter was admitted to the Académie Royale (1789). As a student of Jean Douelle, he had started out with historicizing church interiors in the manner of 17th Century Dutch artists.

Provenance: English Noble Collection (Cambridgeshire). This architectural composition, which was only recently rediscovered in an English private collection, shows Lafontaine, who is almost exclusively known for church interiors from the Restoration perio