JOSEPH HUSSENOT (1827-1896)

ANNIBALE AND AGOSTINO CARRACCI AS CHILDREN, IN THEIR FATHER'S SHOP
Signed to support l.r. J. Hussenot, Metz, in another hand Premières années d'Annibal né a Bologne en 1567 . / mort a Rome le 15 juin 1609. / Il était fils d'Antonio Carracci Tailleur
Pen & ink
19.5 x 25.1 cm
 
PROVENANCE:
Anonymous sale, Christie's, South Kensington, 12.12.2003, lot 504; 
Private collection, Switzerland
 
 
 
 
The present work is an intriguing subject, indeed it is one that none of the Carracci painted themselves. Hussenot did however draw at least one further scene from the life of another artist, the Spanish sixteenth century painter Luis de Vargas (1502-1568), with that work now in the Musée d'Unterlinden, Colmar. (1)
 
 
Joseph Hussenot was born in Metz into a family of artists. His father, Auguste Hussenot, invented the practice of peinture à l'huile en feuilles: this technique involves the creation of a painting within the studio and, upon completion, detaching a sheet of colour from the canvas (or other support) onto which it had been painted. This ‘feuille’ (sheet) is then rolled, transported to the destination where it is to be applied. The application is then achieved by means of a homogenous caustic applied to the area where it is intended.
 
The younger Joseph specialised in monumental religious paintings, perhaps having been influenced by his father's skill in decorative painting. Examples of these commissions can be found in Lille, Metz, Nord-Pas-de-Calais. Joseph also produced a large number of illustrations which were engraved for historical texts and books on natural history.