John HAYES (?, 1786-Londres, 1866), d’après Jacques-Louis... Lot n° 14

(1748-1825) Emperor Napoleon I in his study at the Tuileries Oil on canvas, circa 1815. H. 125 x W. 100 cm. Inscribed "J.Hayes - David" on the stretcher and stenciled inventory number "67601". In a gilded wood frame. Frame : H. 149 x W. 124 cm. Provenance Collection of Sir Thomas Charles Willis Pullinger CBE OBE OBK JP (1867-1945), a pioneer in automotive engineering. Related works - Jacques-Louis DAVID, Napoleon I in his study at the Tuileries, 1812, oil on canvas, 203.9 cm × 125.1 cm. National Gallery of Art, Washington D.C. (inv. 1961.9.15). - Jacques Louis David (1748-1825), Napoleon I in his Study at the Tuileries, 1812, oil on canvas, 205 x 128 cm. Fontainebleau, Musée national du château. History An English portrait painter born around 1786, his name first appears as an exhibitor at the Royal Academy in 1814. He continued to exhibit there until 1851; his contributions were mainly portraits, although he occasionally sent some genre scenes. Hayes had a considerable practice as a portraitist and died in 1866, at the age of 80. His talents as a portraitist earned him many commissions from British high society, as evidenced by Hayes' 1846 portrait of Miss Agnes Strickland in the National Portrait Gallery. Napoleon in his study, an English commission On August 3, 1811, a wealthy Scotsman named Alexander, Marquis of Douglas - who would become the tenth Duke of Hamilton in 1819 - sent a letter to David commissioning a portrait of Napoleon. "... you have deigned to choose my Brush to convey on canvas the features of the Great Man, and to represent him in one of the events that have immortalized him", the artist replied on September 20. The painter then produced a painting that contrasted with the usual representations of the Emperor. Abandoning the costume of his apartment, David chose to depict him in the uniform of a Colonel of the Foot Grenadiers of the Guard, in his study at the Tuileries Palace. Rather than a celebration of imperial power, this is an allegory of Napoleon's civil work. The Civil Code on the desk, the burning candles and the watch showing four hours past indicate that the sovereign worked all night on his legislative project. In an iconic gesture that has become part of Napoleon's image, he slips his right hand into his vest. The painting was exhibited at the Castle of the Dukes of Hamilton and sold in 1882 to Archibald Primrose (5th Earl of Rosebery). In 1954 it was acquired by the Samuel H. Kress Foundation, which then deposited it in the National Gallery of Art in Washington. In April 1812, David executed a repetition of the painting, a "second original", but in which the Emperor wears the green uniform of the Guard's mounted chasseurs, as in our painting. This work, commissioned by a mysterious Mr. Huibans who will never acquire it, will remain in David's studio and he will take it to his exile in Brussels. The painting was sold in Paris in 1824. It reappeared in 1860, when it was sold by the famous dealer Durand-Ruel to Emperor Napoleon III. During the Second Empire, the painting was placed in the "Chamberlain's Room" before the Council Room in the Tuileries. In 1870, it was transferred to the Louvre and then put by Reiset on the list of works in the private domain of historical or artistic interest, drawn up at the request of the Commission de la dotation mobilière in 1873. It was then returned by court order to Empress Eugenie in 1881 who gave it to Princess Mathilde, who in turn gave it to her brother Prince Napoleon. It was then donated by Prince and Princess Napoleon in 1979. In 2020, following the Princess' renunciation of the usufruct, the work became part of the national collections, in the Napoleon I Museum at the Château de Fontainebleau. The English copy by John Hayes Among the many twists and turns of the second version of the painting was an exhibition in London in 1815. Just before his exile to Brussels, David decided to send three of his paintings to London for a paying exhibition with possible sale. The Morning Chronicle of April 10, 1815 announced the arrival of the painter's works as follows: "David's original pictures. The amateurs of the Fine Arts will learn with considerable interest that some of the most distinguished pictures of the Chevalier David, first painter to Napoleon Bonaparte, are just arrived in London, and will be speedily exhibited to the public; their authenticity will be discovered at first sight by the amateur; if any further proof be required to convince the public, the most unequivocal documents will be exhibited with the pictures. Further particulars will be shortly announced." The works presented, namely "Bonaparte fran