Charles-François de Lacroix, called Lacroix de Marseille (French, c. 1700-1782) Calm; Storm (a pair), 1761 Oil on canvas 34 x 48-1/2 inches (86.4 x 123.2 cm) (each) Calm signed, dated, and inscribed lower right: De / Lacroix / Rome / 1761 Property from the Estate of Toni Chapman Brinker, Dallas, Texas PROVENANCE: Renaissance Galleries, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania; Acquired by the present owner from the above. Much is unknown about the early life of Charles-François de Lacroix, save for his birthplace, which earned him the moniker Lacroix de Marseille. What is certain is his training under Claude-Joseph Vernet, whose style echoes throughout Lacroix's oeuvre, providing ample evidence of his enormous influence on the young artist. Pendant seascapes are a hallmark of Lacroix's output, and the present lot is particularly characteristic of his style as adopted from Vernet. This pair was produced in Rome, a place Lacroix is known to have visited together with his master Vernet in 1751; during this initial trip, the two worked side by side, with Lacroix producing four precise copies of works by Vernet, all of which now reside at Uppark, Sussex. Vernet returned to France, but Lacroix remained in Italy for at least another decade, during which he truly came into his own and established himself as a master of fantastical seascapes, and with a particular fondness for pairs contrasting calm seaports and dramatic tempests, embodying the contemporary concept of the beautiful and the sublime. It is this great period of success in Italy that birthed the present works, in every way highly representative of Lacroix's mature style. The bustling and greatly detailed scenes expected of his work are showcased in Calm, where we see several groups of figures scattered throughout the foreground. Fishermen cast their lines from a stone jetty, while another group fishes with poles at the left edge, with one man leaning languidly on his long pole, quoting Vernet's standing fisherman seen in his view of the rapids at Tivoli (see lot 69049). A group of Turks gather smoking and discoursing at right, while above them lines of clothing hang to dry, indicating a residential area just out of sight to the right of the picture plane. Two figures stand atop the tower, pointing to the sea, eagerly awaiting the arrival of a particular ship bearing valuables or loved ones. Storm presents a group of figures salvaging goods and survivors from a ship which has met its doom along a rocky coastline. Flags, crates, and bolts of fabric are among the items dragged ashore, scattered amidst a frenzy of figures in various states of shock and panic. A jagged, forbidding rock formation corrals the scene at left, brilliantly juxtaposed with the swirling depths of the adjacent sea. In the distance, another great ship foundering precariously in the choppy seas, as nearby on shore, a mountainous city appears illuminated by the sun pouring through a break in the clouds. Storm in particular recalls the most dramatic tempests by Vernet, as Lacroix truly earns his reputation as the finest of the master's pupils. HID12401132022 © 2024 Heritage Auctions | All Rights Reserved