(Pontoise 1700–1759 Paris)
A pair of lakeside landscapes with aquatic birds
oil on canvas, each 60.3 x 87.6 cm, framed, a pair (2)

We are grateful to Claudia Salvi for confirming the attribution of the present painting (written communication).

In 1735, Christophe Huet painted a series of ten large-sized paintings for the decoration of one of the rooms of Marie-Anne de Bourbon, Mlle de Clermont, at the Petit Luxembourg in Paris. In the 19th century this series was transferred to Chantilly. Several paintings belonging to this series resemble the present and it may be possible that these paintings were executed in the context of the Luxembourg commission. Christophe Huet, who also sought inspiration for the present paintings in the works of Oudry and Desportes, is mainly known for his ‘singeries’ – decorative room programmes featuring monkeys. Some of these decorations, which Huet executed in the Rococo style, have survived in their entirety, including the Petite and the Grande Singerie painted for Chantilly in 1735 and 1737, the Salon Chinois at Champs-sur-Marne from 1747, and a further monkey cabinet at the Hôtel de Rohan in Paris from 1751.

We are grateful to Claudia Salvi for confirming the attribution of the present painting (written communication).

In 1735, Christophe Huet painted a series of ten large-sized paintings for the decoration of one of the rooms of Marie-Anne de Bourbon, Mlle de Clermont, at the Petit Luxembourg in Paris. In the 19th century this series was transferred to Chantilly. Several paintings belonging to this series resemble the present and it may be possiblethat these paintings were executed in the context of the Luxembourg commission. Christophe Huet, who also sought inspiration for the present paintings in the works of Oudry and Desportes, is mainly known for his ‘singeries’ – decorative room programmes featuring monkeys. Some of these decorations, which Huet executed in the Rococo style, have survived in their entirety, including the Petite and the Grande Singerie painted for Chantilly in 1735 and 1737, the Salon Chinois at Champs-sur-Marne from 1747, and a further monkey cabinet at the Hôtel de Rohan in Paris from 1751.