Lot 1065 Dα

The whereabouts of the present work have remained unknown for the past 118 years. Natalie Coural wrote in Pierre Patel's catalogue raisonné in 2001, "Les Patel - Pierre Patel (1605-1676) et ses fils - Les paysages de ruines à Paris au XVIIe siècle" referring to the landscape work PP36: "[...] il existe à la Witt Library de Londres une photographie ancienne d'un tableau (sans indication de provenance), signé et daté P PATEL 1657, qui l'on peut presque certainement identifier avec ce tableau. Cette toile est vraisemblablement celle qui était passée en vente le 11 décembre 1780 à Paris (vente Le Brun et autre marchands; cf. p. 391-392, vente no. 125, no. 141): "P. Patel 1657, un Paysage orné de ruines d'architecture. Sur le premier plan & dans la partie droite, l'on voit la Vierge fuyant en Egypte; dans le côté gauche, l'on aperçoit un Pâtre gardant tris vaches & cing chèvres: plus loin sont trois petites figures [...]; le fon offer une grande étendue de pays, où l'on distingue un pont, des acqueducs et des hautes montagnes. Ce Tableau offer la fraîcheur vaporeuse & la touche de Claude le Lorrain, auquel il pourrait servir de pendant. Il est du plus beau temps, que nous connaissions de ce Mâitre. Hauteur 19 pouces, largeur 24 pouces.” (Coural 2001, op. cit., p. 165, PP36)
Although it may seem unnecessarily picky, in this case it is important to note that the present work does not depict three cows and five goats, as Le Brun describes, but two cows and six goats. This detail can be observed not only in the original, but also in the photograph in the Witt Library. This proves that the present work is in fact the piece described and illustrated in the catalogue raisonné, the provenance of which can be traced back to 1780.
Two further versions of this composition with varying dimensions are known to exist, one unsigned and one signed and dated (Patel 1658). The first is kept in Sheffield, the second in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Tours (Coural 2001, op. cit., p. 166, PP37, PP38). The present work is considered to be the prime version. This assumption is made in consideration of the work's date, but also its exceptional quality. The fine brushwork in the architecture and the foliage, the soft evening light, and the use of an academic compositional scheme to form an ideal landscape are all typical characteristics of Pierre Patel's style. Comparable works can be seen in the Louvre and in the National Gallery in London, among many other museums.