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Jacques-Francois (-Joseph) Swebach (also Swebach-Desfontaines or
Swebach de Fontaine) was born in 1769 in Metz and died in Paris in 1823.
After being taught the rudiments of drawing by his father, the painter,
sculptor and engraver Francois-Louis Swebach, he left Metz for Paris
where he studied under Michel H. Duplessis (fl. 1780-99). By 1788
Jacques-Francois had gained a certain reputation for his paintings and
drawings of soldiers and horses. He exhibited at the Salon between 1791
and1823 and received a medal in the Salon of 1810. Between 1802 and 1813
he was Premier Peintre at the Sévres porcelain factory and was involved
in the decoration of several services. Until ca. 1808 he painted
landscapes in collaboration with the French painter Georges Michel.
From 1815 to 1820 he worked (invited by Count Guriev) in St.
Petersburg for Tsar Alexander I as Premier Peintre to the Imperial
porcelain factory, but continued to send small paintings to the Salon de
Paris. During his stay in Russia Swebach achieved a wide popularity
among the Russian aristocracy. The works he sent from Russia to the
Salon de Paris gained him the favor of critics, who praised his pictures
as being full of "wit and refinement" and described him as the
"Wouwerman of our time".
Apart from a few official commissions still in France, such as the
"Cavalcade and Drive in Barouches" for the Chateau de Malmaison (1800;
Montpellier Musée Fabre), he worked for private collectors, who prized
his small paintings for the accuracy in the depiction of horses, the
proliferation of detail and anecdotes, the precise drawing and the
bright colors. He was condemned by his success to repeat the same
pictures to please his clients; hunting scenes and horse markets,
military convoys and skirmishes. He was a rival of Jean-Louis Demarne in
the representation of such scenes, set in brilliantly lit landscapes
and portrayed with a precision and naivety reminiscent of
Nicolas-Antoine Taunay, although less poetic. He could depict narrative
and characterize small group scenes with humor, somewhat in the manner
of Louis-Léopold Boilly.
Swebach also produced many engravings; he participated in the
"Complete Collection of Historical Scenes of the French Revolution"
(1802) and engraved the "French Campaign under the Consulate and the
Empire: Album of 52 battles and 100 portraits of Marshals". He collected
his graphic works in the "Picturesque Encyclopaedia" (1806).
Works of this artist can be viewed in most important museum worldwide: France, Russia, Germany, USA, etc.
Provenance: German private collection
Condition: good
Creation Year: early 1800s
Measurements: UNFRAMED: 10.2 cm x 15.4 cm / 4.0" x 6.1" Inches
FRAMED: 17.8 cm x 22.8 cm / 7.0" x 9.0" Inches
Object Type: Framed drawing
Style: Battle paintings
Technique: ink and grey wash on paper (laid on mount)
Inscription: -
Creator: Jacques-Francois-Joseph Swebach-Desfontaines***OBS: Austrian mail refunds cases of loss with maximum EUR 500.