Jean-Baptiste OUDRY (Paris, 1686 - Beauvais, 1755) Angry Leopard Black stone, shading and white chalk highlights on previously blue prepared paper Formerly attributed to Huet on an old label on the reverse of the frame: "Huet (Jean-Baptiste-Marie)/une Panthère". (Glued in full on a cardboard) Angry leopard, black chalk, stump and white highlights, by J.-B. Oudry 12.40 x 16.53 in. 31.5 x 42 cm Provenance: Probably in the cabinet of Paignon-Dijonval under no. 3227 of his Inventaire détaillé et raisonné des dessins et des estampes dont il est composé, by Bénard, Paris, 1810: "four studies of animals which are a leopard, a tiger, a lion and a wild cat, in black and white pencil on blue paper, size 16 inches by 10 inches"; Private collection, Ile-de-France Bibliography: Jean Locquin, Catalogue raisonné de l'œuvre de Jean-Baptiste Oudry, Archives de l'Art Français, Nouvelle période, Tome VI, 1912 (reprint 1968), probably no. 802, p.138 Related works: A quick and sober study of the silhouette is in the Staatliches Museum Schwerin (Inv. N° 1172Hz, fig. 1) (see H. Opperman, catalogue de l'exposition J.-B. Oudry, Paris, Grand-Palais, 1982-1983, p.185, n° 97, p.186, repr.). The painting in the same museum (ibid., p.186-188, no. 98, repr.) Our drawing is a study for one of the most famous representations of one of the animals in the Ménagerie du Roy, which was exhibited at the Salon of 1741 under the title Un tigre masle en colère. From 1739 onwards, Oudry painted a series of ten portraits of the animals in the Menagerie by order of the King, and "under the direction of Mr De la Peyronie His first surgeon, who wanted them engraved, and to form a natural suite for His Majesty's Botanical Garden", wrote Oudry to the Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 1750. Designed life-size to adorn a building in the Botanical Gardens at Trianon, they were kept by the artist following La Peyronie's death in 1747. When the Duke wrote to him asking for "a few paintings in his style", Oudry was quick to offer him the series. At the Salon of 1741, The Leopard was exhibited alongside A Female Tiger in a Quiet Attitude. Oudry's intention was to contrast the expressions, taking his inspiration from the theory of the passions as applied to humans, and thus granting a form of sensitivity to the animal kingdom. Other very fine studies by the Paignon-Dijonval group, such as those of the lion and the wild cat, which have recently been rediscovered, show that Oudry drew his compositions with great care. He also sketched animals in oil, as shown in the catalogue of the sale of the engraver Jean-Denis Lempereur (1701-1779) on 24 May 1773, which lists a study of a leopard in oil on paper in lot 686, "Trois idem qui sont un léopard, un sanglier et une hure de sanglier "1. Count Tessin's collection included a series of twelve drawings in three pencils, one of which was a leopard2. The theme of the leopard, a mountain fawn, appealed to the public and Oudry also produced a Combat between leopards and wild horses in pen and Indian ink wash3, a Combat of leopards4 and a Combat of elephants, lions, leopards and tigers5. These spectacular scenes were destined to become tapestries for the Gobelins, but Oudry did not obtain the hoped-for commission. The brilliance of our drawing lies in the animal's magnificent spotted fur, whose subtle undulations perfectly convey the nervousness of a wild beast on the prowl, ready to pounce on its adversary. The patches of black stone undulate, following the muscular tension and sinuous curves of the coat and tail, magnificently suspended in its movement like a whip ready to split the air, sparkling in the light of the white chalk highlights. We would like to thank Mr Hal Opperman for kindly confirming the authenticity of this unpublished drawing in an email dated 13 October 2024. 1. See Locquin, op.cit, p.135, no. 777. 2. Ibid, no. 817 3. Opperman, op.cit., pp. 201-202, no. 108, repr. 4. Former Repnine collection, sale at Hôtel Drouot, 6 June 1907, no. 72, repr. 5. Locquin, op.cit, no. 696. Jean-Baptiste OUDRY (Paris, 1686 - Beauvais, 1755) 31.5 x 42 cm Related works : A quick and sober study of the silhouette is preserved in the Staatliches Museum in Schwerin (Inv. N° 1172Hz, fig. 1) (see H. Opperman, catalogue of the exhibition J.-B. Oudry, Paris, Grand-Palais, 1982-1983, p.185, n° 97, p.186, repr.). The painting in the same museum (ibid., p.186-188, no. 98, repr.) Our drawing is a study for one of the most famous representations of one of the animals in the Ménagerie du Roy, which was exhibited at the Salon of 1741 under the title Un tigre masle en colère. From 1739 onwards, Oudry painted a series of ten portraits of the animals in the Menagerie by order of the King, and "under the direction of Mr De la Peyronie His first surgeon, who wanted them engraved, and to form a natural suite for His Majesty's Botanical Garden", wrote Oudry to the Duke of Mecklenburg-Schwerin in 1750. Designed life-size to adorn a building in the Botanical Gardens at Trianon, they were kept by the artist following La Peyronie's death in 1747. When the Duke wrote to him asking for "a few paintings in his style", Oudry was quick to offer him the series. At the Salon of 1741, The Leopard was exhibited alongside A Female Tiger in a Quiet Attitude. Oudry's intention was to contrast the expressions, taking his inspiration from the theory of the passions as applied to humans, and thus to grant a form of sensitivity to the animal kingdom. Other very fine studies by the Paignon-Dijonval group, such as those of the lion and the wild cat, which have recently been rediscovered, show that Oudry produced very careful drawings of his compositions. He also sketched animals in oil, as shown in the catalogue of the sale of the engraver Jean-Denis Lempereur (1701-1779) on 24 May 1773, which lists a study of a leopard in oil on paper in lot 686, "Trois idem qui sont un léopard, un sanglier et une hure de sanglier "1. Count Tessin's collection included a series of twelve drawings in three pencils, one of which was a leopard2. The theme of the leopard, a mountain fawn, appealed to the public and Oudry also produced a Combat between leopards and wild horses in pen and Indian ink wash3, a Combat of leopards4 and a Combat of elephants, lions, leopards and tigers5. These spectacular scenes were intended to become tapestries for the Gobelins, but Oudry did not obtain the hoped-for commission. The brilliance of our drawing lies in the animal's magnificent spotted fur, whose subtle undulations perfectly convey the nervousness of a wild beast on the prowl, ready to pounce on its adversary. The patches of black stone undulate, following the muscular tension and sinuous curves of the coat and tail, magnificently suspended in its movement like a whip ready to split the air, sparkling in the light of the white chalk highlights. We would like to thank Mr Hal Opperman for kindly confirming the authenticity of this unpublished drawing in an email dated 13 October 2024. 1. See Locquin, op.cit, p.135, no. 777. 2. Ibid, no. 817 3. Opperman, op.cit., pp. 201-202, no. 108, repr. 4. Former Repnine collection, sale at Hôtel Drouot, 6 June 1907, no. 72, repr. 5. Locquin, op.cit, no. 696.