This transcription has been completed. Contact us with corrections.
JACQUES SELIGMANN & CO., INC. 5 EAST 57TH STREET NEW YORK 22, N. Y. CABLE ADDRESS: GLAENSTARK TELEPHONE: PLAZA-9-0250 PAINTINGS WORKS OF ART Mr. Jean Davray New York, N. Y. Cont'd -2- January 4, 1953 [[table of 4 columns]] Balance brought forward | $1,600.00| | No. 7694 a/b | Carrogis, Louis called CARMONTELLE (Cont'd.) Here represented are "the mother, her two daughters, Jeanne Viguiere their faithful maid, the son, and his friend, young Lavaysee". The title is taken from the engraving which was made by Delafosse. However, the scene represents a happy moment for this family, as the document being read to them heralds their liberation from prison, where they had been condemned through a miscarriage of justice. Their freedom was due to a great extent to the interest the great Voltaire took in their case. He was one of their ardent defenders, and wrote briefs to the King protesting the family's innocence. Note: A watercolor of much smaller dimensions (11" x 15-¾"), also by Carmontelle, represents the same subject treated differently, however. See appended note and its addendum by Mr. Francois Boucher comparing this drawing to the watercolor which was formerly in the David Weill collection. According to him this drawing was carried out directly on the "spot", whereas the watercolor was made later toward the engraving. Collection: M. Cailac Georges Levy Jean Oppenheim - Paris (see page three) | |