Attributed to Jean Demontreuil, circa 1790 Dead bird (a partridge) hanging by one leg Carved wood high relief The bird with ruffled feathers is shown hanging by one leg from a string tied around a nail, while a fly sits on its neck; set in a wooden frame. Dimensions: 41.5 × 29.3 × 11.5 cm (16 ¼ × 11 ½ × 4 ½ in.) With frame: 66 × 54 cm (26 × 21 ¼ in.) Provenance: French private collection, Valenciennes. Comparative bibliography : A.-M. Kerneis, Aubert Parent: 1753-1835, Master's thesis, Lille III, 1989. C. Streeter, Two Carved Reliefs by Aubert Parent, The J. Paul Getty Museum Journal 13 (January 1985), pp. 53-66. Collection des livrets des anciennes expositions depuis 1673 jusqu'en 1800 - XXVI, Exposition de 1791; XXXVII, Exposition de 1793; XXXVIII, Exposition de 1795; XXXIX, Exposition de 1796; J. J. Guiffrey, 1869-1872. A carved wood high relief depicting a dead bird, attributed to Jean Demontreuil, circa 1790 Bordeaux-born Jean Démontreuil was a celebrated woodcarver in France in the late 18th century. He studied in Bordeaux and was a teacher at the Bordeaux Academy, before working in Paris. It is said that he also worked for Marie-Antoinette. He exhibited carved panels, often of dead birds, at the Paris Salons from 1791 to 1798, showcasing his skill at depicting feathers and other fine details. From the 1780s onwards, France experienced a fashion for highly naturalistic sculptures of flowers, animals or birds, depicted life-size and sculpted in high relief, but on plain backgrounds. Aubert-Henri-Joseph Parent was one of his contemporaries, a talented woodcarver. The two sculptors had one thing in common: they were specialists in finely worked sculpture and shared a passion for birds, insects and animals. These works were framed and displayed in small private rooms such as cabinets or boudoirs. The degree of realism can be astonishing, and Démontreuil often included elements such as fine rope or incidental details like flies on flowers or birds, to underline his talent. A fly discreetly placed on the neck of our bird is present. Jean Demontreuil exhibited sculptures similar to our bird at the Paris Salons in 1791 (n°21 and n°602), 1792 and 1793 (n°174). We are aware of several high reliefs depicting a dead bird hanging by one leg that are held in international institutions and have come up for public sale. An example similar to our panel but smaller, signed Demontreuil, is kept at Burghley House Stamford in England (EWA08650). Two other life-size panels, each depicting a dead bird, the serin (European canary) and the swallow, signed and dated 1796, are in the Historisches Museum in Basel. Finally, another pair of dead birds, a nightingale and a bullfinch, signed by montreuil and dated 1791, is in the Victoria & Albert museum in London (W.108-1962). The sculptures in the V & A and the Historisches Museum are in frames similar to our frame and could be the original frames supplied. Another sculpture was sold in Paris, Le Carpentier, 14 May-1 June 1866, lot 181 under the title Un oiseau mort, suspendu par une patte. Very nice sculpture in high relief, by Demontreuil. In a carr'en bois sculpt' frame, which sold for 250 livres. Another larger dead bird (approx. 25.4 cm) also sold at Sotheby's in London on 13 February 1925, lot 87.