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George ROUGET. 1783-1869. Painter.

Bust of the shepherd Paris. Before 1818.

Signed by the artist above the right shoulder

Oil on panel

35,7 x 30,8 cm

Georges Rouget:

Georges Rouget was born on August 26, 1783 in Paris in a rather modest environment. At a very young age, he showed skills and a certain taste for drawing, so in 1790 he joined the studio of the painter Michel Garnier, a family friend. Thanks to the latter, he enrolled in 1796 at the School of Fine Arts, where he evolved until 1799, the presumed date of his meeting with Jacques-Louis David. It was in the bump class at the School that David, noticing his talent, stopped behind the young student to compliment him on his work. He then asks Rouget to show him other works. Impressed by the drawing that the young boy presented to him, he met his parents to convince them to push him into an artistic career and let him join his workshop. Testimonies from the time reveal the affection that David had for little Rouget who was quickly adopted by his master's circle. From 1803 to 1805, Rouget competed in the Prix de Rome, second grand prize in 1803, although he never managed to win first place. From 1805, David offered to help him in the creation of his works. More than just retouching work, he makes his student his right arm, the latter sometimes even being asked to complete the works started by the master. Their close collaboration means that it is today very difficult to distinguish the two hands in some of David's creations. This partnership is recognized and valued by David himself who presents his apprentice, whom he now considers as his equal, as his right arm. In the Coronation of Napoleon, in which Rouget's intervention is important, David will pay homage to him by having him appear on the painting in the gallery at his side. After David's exile in Belgium, Rouget, who enjoyed a solidly established reputation, was entrusted with numerous official orders under the Restoration and the July Monarchy. As a result, several of his paintings are today preserved in French public collections, we can cite in this regard: Oedipus and Antigone on Mount Cytheron (1814) The assembly of notables in Rouen (1822), Saint Louis dispensing justice under an oak tree in Vincennes (1826), Portrait of Clovis III king of Austrasia (1836).

Georges ROUGET. 1783-1869.

Self-portrait,

1850,

Oil on canvas, 73.5 x 59.5 cm

Castle of Versailles,

Jacques-Louis David. 1748-1825.

Portrait of the artist,

1794,

Oil on canvas, 81 x 105 cm

Louvre Museum

George ROUGET. 1783-1869. Painter.

Bust of the shepherd Paris. Before 1818.

Signed by the artist

Oil on panel

35,7 x 30,8 cm

This oil on panel represents the shepherd Paris, a mythical character from the Trojan epic. At his birth an oracle warned his father King Priam that Paris would be the cause of the destruction of his beloved city of Troy. The child is then abandoned on Mount Ida where he is taken in and raised by the shepherd Agelaos. Having become an adult, it was while he was tending herds that the three goddesses Athena, Hera and Aphrodite chose him to decide between them in a beauty contest whose outcome would lead to the Trojan War. In the legend, Paris grew up in Phrygia, the Phrygian cap therefore became its emblem and very early on its iconography became inseparable from the headgear.

Anonymous German artist.

Head of Paris,

Early 19th century,

Oil on canvas, 73 x 62 cm

Hermitage Museum

Jacques-Louis David. 1748-1825.

The loves of Paris and Helene

1788,

Oil on canvas, 146 x 181 cm

Louvre Museum

In this painting all of Rouget's dexterity is observed, the composition harmonizes perfectly thanks to a palette playing on rather dark tones of green which highlight the youthful freshness of the shepherd's flesh. The young boy's expression is very carefully studied, all restrained, there emerges from his face which could seem neutral at first glance, a sort of concern mixed with a touching innocence. His gaze cast towards a distant horizon, invisible to the spectator, seems to rest on a destiny that he knows to be disastrous. In this striking work, Rouget experiments with both beauty and the subtlety of emotions.

It comes from the collection of Athanase Lavallée (1768-1818), secretary of the Louvre Museum, at the time called the Napoléon Museum, from 1797, he will be the right arm of Vivant Denon and will even replace him at the head of the the institution upon his resignation in 1815. It was during a sale organized upon his death, on March 9, 1818, that the painting was sold to Mr. Bouteville for the sum of 40 francs. The work is cited by painter specialist Mr Alain Pougetoux in the catalog of the exhibition dedicated to Georges Rouget which was held at the Museum of Romantic Life in 1995[1].

Attributed to Pierre-Paul PRUD'HON. 1758-1823.

Portrait of Athanase Lavallée,

1809,

Oil on canvas,

Orléans Museum of Fine Arts

We would like to thank the Georges Rouget specialist, Mr. Alain Pougetoux, for authenticating our work.

Some works in public collections:

Georges ROUGET, Religious marriage of Napoleon I and Archduchess Marie-Louise, 1810, oil on canvas, 185 x 182 cm, Château de VersaillesGeorges ROUGET, Mesdemoiselles Mollien, 1811, oil on canvas, 130 x 97.3 cm, Museum from the LouvreGeorges ROUGET, Oedipus and Antigone on Mount Cytheron, 1814, oil on canvas, 276.5 x 212.5 cm, Musée des Beaux-arts de Rouen Georges ROUGET, The assembly of notables in Rouen, 1822, oil on canvas , 385 x 304 cm, Château de VersaillesGeorges ROUGET, Saint Louis rendering justice under an oak at Vincennes (1826), oil on canvas, 320 x 261 cm, Château de Versailles Georges ROUGET, Portrait of Clovis III king of Austrasia (1836 ), oil on canvas, 92.5 x 75 cm, Palace of Versailles

[1] Alain Pougetoux, Georges Rouget student of David, Museum of Romantic Life September 12-December 17, 1995, Paris musées, 1995, p.138