Lucien BONAPARTE (1775-1840). L.A.S., Florence June 10, 1808 - Lot 351

Lucien BONAPARTE (1775-1840). L.A.S., Florence June 10, 1808, to M. Chatillon "at the French Academy in Rome"; 1page in-4, addressed with broken red wax seal. To draftsman and miniaturist Charles de Châtillon (1777-1844), who was his secretary, about the funeral monument for his third son, Joseph Lucien Bonaparte (1806-1807) [in the collegiate church of Canino, by Antonio Canova]. He sent back the drawing of the monument: "I want it to be as it is in this drawing; no inscription on the bas-relief, but at the bottom where the sign + the Latin inscription is; and where the sign # the epitaph is as I have written it, without any child's toy or other accessory. [...] We are doing well: your works have arrived very well and we are pleased with them. - Vous scavez mes sentiments pour vous: je vous engage à terminer les 2 dessins de Charlemagne dont le 3e chant est presque achevé"... [This refers to his epic poem in 24 songs, Charlemagne ou l'Église sauvée, published in 1815].