Charles-François GRENIER de LACROIX, known as... Lot 17

Charles-François GRENIER de LACROIX, known as LACROIX de MARSEILLE (Marseille circa 1700 - Berlin after 1784) Pilgrims near the Castel Sant'Angelo during the coronation of Archduke Joseph II, King of the Romans, March 27, 1764 Copper Trace of signature lower left, on the rock in the shadow "G... " 40.5 x 59.5 cm Old sales label on reverse of frame "Gros n° 83, Officier blessé...1809". (Old restorations) In the exhibition catalog Tivoli. Variations sur un paysage au XVIIIème siècle (Paris, musée Cognacq-Jay, November 18, 2010 - February 20, 2011, pp. 58-61), artist specialist Jean-Luc Ryaux notes that Grenier de Lacroix was active in Rome as early as 1743. His signed and dated works enable us to follow him until 1760. The subject of our painting would probably be a celebration held at the Castel Sant'Angelo to mark the coronation of Archduke Joseph as King of the Romans, a title held by Joseph II of the Holy Roman Empire from March 27, 1764. The same ornamentation - flags and draperies on the castle balcony, bonfires lit for the occasion and the procession of onlookers on the Ponte St. Angelo - can be found in an engraving by Peter Schenk the Elder, after Giovanni Battista Falda, illustrating the coronation of Archduke Joseph, the future Joseph I of the Holy Roman Empire.