Search Request | Object report
L'Alceste de Philippe Quinault
From the first part ‘Scènes de Tragédie’ of the series ‘Les scènes d'Opera, de Tragédie et de Comédie’
Lost Art-ID
628717
Artist / Creator
Audran, Michel
Birth
1701.02.20, Paris
Death
1771.03.25, Paris
Manufaktur
Manufacture Royale des Gobelins Paris, Atelier de Hautelisse
Formation
1607
Closing
-
Place
Paris
Title
L'Alceste de Philippe Quinault
Additional title
From the first part ‘Scènes de Tragédie’ of the series ‘Les scènes d'Opera, de Tragédie et de Comédie’
Dating
1749-1752
Object type
Group of reported objects
Material / Technique
Fabric (Wool) ; Fabric (Silk) / Tapestry (Hautelisse)
Description
From the first episode »Scènes de Tragédie« to the series »Les scènes d'Opera, de Tragédie et de Comédie«. The poem by Philippe Quinaut was based on motifs from the tragedy »Alkestis« of Euripides was written and performed by Jean-Baptiste Lully as a libretto for his 1674 in Paris Opera »Alceste ou Le Triomphe d'Alcide«. The tragedy describes how Alkeste saved her husband’s life by his own death. Since ancient times, the title figure has been considered an epitome of conjugal devotion and Heracles managed to bring it back from Hades. For the pictorial scene of the tapestry, Coypel chose the third scene from the fifth and final act of the tragedy. It shows the moment when Heracles brings back to life the restored Alceste to her husband Admète.
Exact measurements unknown. Gardemeubles 1768 and Hofbettmeisterei 1794 for No 1: 7 3/8 cubit high x 5 ¾ cubit wide (4.177 x 3.257 m)
Provenance
1747 as a commission to Charles Antoine Coypel by the Dauphin Louis Ferdinand de Bourbon and Princess Maria Josepha of Poland and Saxony on the occasion of their marriage as a gift for the bride's mother, Queen of Poland and Electress of Saxony, Maria Josepha; 1768 listed in the Gardemeubles inventories under “Cap. I. Tapeten oder Meubles”; Listed in 1920 in the Dresden Castle inventory of the “Gobelinzimmer vor der Reitschule”; recorded in 1942 in the “Bergungsliste von Objekten mit besonderem Wert” compiled by the castle administrator Johannes Bibrach and the head of the castle pension office Hugo Bahr; Together with the other 19 tapestries listed, they were stored on a total of 8 rolls in the Green Vault; in 1943, the “[…] 8 Rollen Gobelins.” were relocated to Schleinitz Castle near Meissen to Schleinitz Castle near Meissen; Since the end of the Second World War, the 4 tapestries in the series have been considered lost. A loss in connection with the events of the Second World War is assumed.
Literature / Source
Gardemeubles 1768
»Inventarium über die Chur. Fürstl. Sächsi. Gardemeubles in Dresden« 1793
Hofbettmeisterei 1794
Published since
Contact
Sächsisches Staatsministerium der Finanzen
Carolaplatz 1
01097 Dresden
Germany
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