This unique composition made with real assignats and a full-length portrait of a principal in the center, is either a recovery from a trompe l'oeil engraving published in 1795-1796 and engraved by Mathieu Joseph Charles Hunin (1770-1851 ), or the original composition used for said engraving, then taken up by many artists who painted it in watercolor (see below).
The assignats were a paper money issued by the National Assembly in France from 1789 to 1796. Most were engraved by Alexandre Tardieu according to a model by Nicolas Marie Gatteaux.
Good condition, framed.
Revolutionary period, circa 1796.
H. 66 x L. 56 cm (frame).
Related works
- A watercolor using the same composition sold at Boisgirard-Antonini, Drouot, October 19, 2011, lot 52 (€ 2,800).
- Another watercolor with the same composition sold at Ferri, Drouot, November 15, 2017, lot 286 (800 €).