Jean Lepautre (French 1618-1682)

Artist: Jean Lepautre (French 1618-1682).
Title: The Spoils of Battle.
Date: Circa 1657 - 1670.
Medium: Pen, ink and wash on laid paper.
Framed Size: Height 39.5 cm x Width 48 cm x Depth 2 cm.
Image Size: Height 14.5 cm x Width 22 cm.
Condition: Very good, the frame is glazed with anti-reflective UV-resistant Museum Glass.
Provenance: Private Collection London, England.

About: This is the original “The Spoils of Battle” ink and wash drawing by Jean Lepautre that he used to produce his engraving of the same name. Lepautre was an exceptional designer who published highly decorative bold and sculptural fantasies, he is also credited with the dissemination of the Louis XlV style.

Lepautre’s work was also influential in the development of several artists, notably Jean Charles Delafosse, French 1734 - 1791 and Johann Ulrich Kraus (German 1655 - 1719) who further reworked the etching of this design as a mirrored production. An image of the Jean Lepautre etching is with the attached photographs.

A French designer and engraver, Lepautre was the elder brother of the architect Antoine Le Pautre. He became an apprentice to a carpenter and builder and specialised in developing designs, mainly for ceilings, friezes, chimney pieces, doorways and mural decorations. Often flamboyant and elaborate, he frequently used amorini and swags, arabesques and cartouches in his work and in contrast, his chimney pieces were often simple and elegant.

Lepautre was indeed a prolific artist, his engraved plates alone total nearly 1,500 in number and include a portrait of himself. Le Pautre also made many designs for Andre Charles Boulle the prominent French cabinetmaker and the preeminent artist in the field of marquetry.