Henry de TRIQUETI (1803-1874) - Lot 19

Henry de TRIQUETI (1803-1874) Design for Prince Albert's Wolsey Chapel at Windsor Castle: Study sheet for the pilaster of Ruth and Booz Pen and black ink, black pencil and stump 23.5 x 18.5 cm Left edge irregular, small stains Our drawing is preparatory to the figure of Ruth on the pilaster of Prince Albert's chapel at Windsor Castle (see exhibition catalog, Henry de Triqueti, le sculpteur des princes, Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Orléans - Musée Girodet de Montargis, October 3, 2007 - January 6, 2008, Hazan édition, 2007, p. 74, fig. 88 and p. 118, fig. 136). Provenance: Château du Perthuis. Note: In December 1861, following the untimely death of Prince Albert, Queen Victoria refused to have him buried in the royal vault under St. George's Chapel at Windsor Castle, prompting the Dean to propose the occupation of Wolsey Chapel. Although this idea was not adopted, their eldest daughter, Princess Victoria, had the chapel converted into a memorial open to the public, and the chapel was renamed "Albert Chapel". The project was led by neo-Gothic architect George Gilbert Scott (1811-1878). While working on the catalog of Poussin's drawings with the librarian at Windsor Castle, Baron Henry de Triqueti, supported by Princess Victoria, now Princess of Prussia, was commissioned to decorate the chapel. The artist worked according to the "marble tarsia" process found in Siena: he attempted to "unite sculpture and painting" by juxtaposing marble slabs of different colors to form a polychrome mosaic, in which perspective, shadows and figure design are visible through deep engravings filled with colored cement that adheres to the marble. This technique, initially deemed unworthy of the project, disqualified him from decorating the ceiling in 1862, which was entrusted to Venetian mosaicist Antonio Salviati (1816-1890). Triqueti was finally appointed to decorate the chapel walls with "tarsia". Triqueti met Queen Victoria at length, submitting several preparatory drawings for the chapel's decoration. The chosen project proposed to decorate the walls with fifteen large paintings framed by cherub borders, with six bas-reliefs, eighty medallions carved into the borders and ten medallions depicting the queen and her nine children. The queen's conviction in the project led her to instruct Gilbert Scott not to interfere, and commissioned Triqueti to execute the prince's cenotaph and recumbent, the reredos, the nave benches and the choir panelling. Ten panels were planned for the nave, illustrating scenes from the Old Testament and evoking the prince's works and virtues: Solomon receives gifts from the kings of the earth, recalling the creation of universal exhibitions, while The Death of Jacob echoes his death. The choir panels illustrate the Passion of Christ, and a Resurrection relief is planned above the altar. The borders surrounding the tarsias contain medallions illustrating biblical subjects, echoing the central panel. A certain chronology seems to be respected in the themes, from the prince's speeches and musical compositions to the public mourning on the north wall. Triqueti devoted the last ten years of his life to this project, studying live models, animals and Egyptian paintings in the British Museum. His principal assistant, Jules Constant Destreez, created the tarsias from Triqueti's drawings, which ranged from simple sketches to full-scale studies, such as the one of David dictating the psalms under divine inspiration. His English pupil Susan Durant executed the medallions depicting the royal family. This commission marks a rapprochement in artistic relations between France and Great Britain at the end of the 19th century.