{"id":110642,"date":"2021-06-10T03:20:47","date_gmt":"2021-06-10T08:20:47","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/all-destinations\/ce-fragonard-auquel-personne-ne-pretait-attention\/"},"modified":"2021-06-10T05:24:20","modified_gmt":"2021-06-10T10:24:20","slug":"the-fragonard-that-went-unnoticed","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/en\/so-barnes-en\/the-fragonard-that-went-unnoticed\/","title":{"rendered":"The Fragonard that went unnoticed"},"content":{"rendered":"<h4>Testimony to Fragonard\u2019s most virtuostic period, <em>Philosopher Reading<\/em> had not been seen in over two centuries. Identified by an expert auctioneer during an estate inventory in the Marne <em>d\u00e9partement<\/em> of France, it will be sold at auction in \u00c9pernay on 26\u00a0June. SoBARNES recounts this discovery that has all the makings of a novel.<\/h4>\n<p>We\u2019ve all dreamed of finding treasure at the bottom of a trunk or hidden in the attic under a pile of dust. But as we all know, it never really happens... Well actually, sometimes it does! Just imagine what went through the mind of Antoine Petit, expert at the Encheres-Champagne auctioneers in \u00c9pernay (Marne), the day he was called by solicitor to carry out an estate inventory: \u201c<em>In the living room of an apartment, hung high on the wall, was this painting in the shape of an oval that immediately caught my eye. The painting had no great importance to the owners, it had been in their family for generations and nobody had paid it any attention. Nevertheless, I decided to take it down and examine it more closely<\/em>...\u201d<\/p>\n\n\t\t<style type=\"text\/css\">\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 {\n\t\t\t\tmargin: auto;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-item {\n\t\t\t\tfloat: left;\n\t\t\t\tmargin-top: 10px;\n\t\t\t\ttext-align: center;\n\t\t\t\twidth: 33%;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 img {\n\t\t\t\tborder: 2px solid #cfcfcf;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t#gallery-1 .gallery-caption {\n\t\t\t\tmargin-left: 0;\n\t\t\t}\n\t\t\t\/* see gallery_shortcode() in wp-includes\/media.php *\/\n\t\t<\/style>\n\t\t<div id='gallery-1' class='gallery galleryid-110642 gallery-columns-3 gallery-size-thumbnail'><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/en\/so-barnes-en\/the-fragonard-that-went-unnoticed\/attachment\/picture11957-copie-2\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture11957-copie-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture11957-copie-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture11957-copie-130x130.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon portrait'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/en\/so-barnes-en\/the-fragonard-that-went-unnoticed\/attachment\/picture11958-copie-2\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture11958-copie-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture11958-copie-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture11958-copie-130x130.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/en\/so-barnes-en\/the-fragonard-that-went-unnoticed\/attachment\/picture11961-copie-2\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture11961-copie-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture11961-copie-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture11961-copie-130x130.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl><br style=\"clear: both\" \/><dl class='gallery-item'>\n\t\t\t<dt class='gallery-icon landscape'>\n\t\t\t\t<a href='https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/en\/so-barnes-en\/the-fragonard-that-went-unnoticed\/attachment\/picture11962-copie-2\/'><img width=\"150\" height=\"150\" src=\"https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture11962-copie-150x150.jpg\" class=\"attachment-thumbnail size-thumbnail\" alt=\"\" loading=\"lazy\" srcset=\"https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture11962-copie-150x150.jpg 150w, https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/wp-content\/uploads\/2021\/06\/Picture11962-copie-130x130.jpg 130w\" sizes=\"(max-width: 150px) 100vw, 150px\" \/><\/a>\n\t\t\t<\/dt><\/dl>\n\t\t\t<br style='clear: both' \/>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\n<p>\u201c<em>My intuition was confirmed when I held the painting in my hands<\/em>\u201d, explains Antoine Petit<em>. <\/em>\u201c<em>The painter was clearly skilled, using incredibly quick and precise brushstrokes<\/em>\u201d. The eagle-eyed expert noticed an old inscription, barely legible on the back of the gilded frame: <em>Fragonard<\/em>. An inscription that had gone entirely unnoticed until then!<\/p>\n<p><iframe loading=\"lazy\" title=\"FRAGONARD, Un philosophe lisant, Un chef d&#039;oeuvre sauv\u00e9 de l&#039;oubli - Vente \u00e0 \u00c9pernay le 26 juin 2021\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\" src=\"https:\/\/www.youtube.com\/embed\/Ipbch_rCEzw?start=215&feature=oembed\" frameborder=\"0\" allow=\"accelerometer; autoplay; clipboard-write; encrypted-media; gyroscope; picture-in-picture\" allowfullscreen><\/iframe><\/p>\n<p>To make certain, Antoine Petit entrusted the painting to the Paris-based Turquin Cabinet, specialising in the valuation of antique paintings. Thankfully the specialists confirmed the find and its attribution to Jean-Honor\u00e9 Fragonard (1732-1806). Indeed, the painting dates from the summit of his career, around 1768-1770. A factor likely to attract major collectors and museums from around the world to bid on it. This painting with its remarkable story will be auctioned on Saturday 26\u00a0June\u00a02021 in \u00c9pernay by Ench\u00e8res Champagne and live online. With a (cautious) estimated value of \u20ac1.5M to \u20ac2M.<\/p>\n<p>When asked what marked him most about his discovery, the expert auctioneer replied: \u201c<em>I\u2019m glad I followed my hunch!<\/em>\u201d So are we.<\/p>\n<p><a href=\"mailto:laurent@sobarnes.com\">laurent@sobarnes.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p>--<\/p>\n<p>Information:<\/p>\n<p>Ench\u00e8res Champagne auctioneers \u2013 28, avenue du Mar\u00e9chal-Foch, 51200 Epernay \u2013 France<\/p>\n<p>T\u00e9l.\u00a0: +33 (0)3 26 32 20 94 \/ <a href=\"http:\/\/www.hoteldesventes-epernay.com\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\">Hoteldesventes-epernay.com<\/a><\/p>\n<p><em>\u00a0<\/em><\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Testimony to Fragonard\u2019s most virtuostic period, Philosopher Reading had not been seen in over two centuries. Identified by an expert auctioneer during an estate inventory in the Marne d\u00e9partement of France, it will be sold at auction in \u00c9pernay on 26\u00a0June. SoBARNES recounts this discovery that has all the makings of a novel. We\u2019ve all dreamed of finding treasure at the bottom of a trunk or hidden in the attic under a pile of dust. But as we all know, it never really happens&#8230; Well actually, sometimes it does! Just imagine what went through the mind of Antoine Petit, expert [&hellip;]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6568,"featured_media":110608,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[554,511],"tags":[],"yoast_head":"<!-- This site is optimized with the Yoast SEO Premium plugin v16.4 (Yoast SEO v16.4) - https:\/\/yoast.com\/wordpress\/plugins\/seo\/ -->\n<title>The Fragonard that went unnoticed - SoBarnes<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sobarnes.com\/en\/so-barnes-en\/the-fragonard-that-went-unnoticed\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"The Fragonard that went unnoticed - SoBarnes\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Testimony to Fragonard\u2019s most virtuostic period, Philosopher Reading had not been seen in over two centuries. Identified by an expert auctioneer during an estate inventory in the Marne d\u00e9partement of France, it will be sold at auction in \u00c9pernay on 26\u00a0June. SoBARNES recounts this discovery that has all the makings of a novel. We\u2019ve all dreamed of finding treasure at the bottom of a trunk or hidden in the attic under a pile of dust. But as we all know, it never really happens... Well actually, sometimes it does! 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