Pierre-Louis De la Rive (1753-1817), The Blacksmith , oil on panel, 41x43.5 cm Note: based on a painting by Philips Wouwerman that was part of the Tronchin collections in the second half of the 18th century and is now in the Gemäldegalerie in Dresden. Provenance: Tronchin Collection, Bessinge Cabinet, acquired in 1938 by Xavier Givaudan (1867-1966), through inheritance from the current owner. Related work: Pierre-Louis de la Rive, Catalogue de mes tableaux avec leurs destinations, autant que j'ai pu les apprendre, 09 novembre 1798, Renée Loche, Catalogue des collections de François Tronchin , in: Genava, T. XXII, Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Genève, 1974, p. 153-154, ill., Patrick-André Guerretta, Pierre-Louis De la Rive ou la belle nature, Vie et oeuvre peint (1753-1817), Georg, Chêne-Bourg, 2002, p. 48, and 334, ill, 330, no. 396 / Exhibition of works by Geneva painters Pierre-Louis De La Rive (1755- 1817) and Adam-Wolfgang Töpffer (1766-1847) from private collections, Société des arts, Musée Ariana and Musée d'art et d'histoire: Musée d'art et d'histoire, Genève, 22 February to 25 March 1934, no. 3 Webography: work present on the photograph of the grand salon of the Tronchin residence, taken by Fred. Boissonnas in 1906, https://www.bge-geneve.ch/iconographie/oeuvre/fbb-n18x24-clients-77725-23 GIVAUDAN - TRONCHIN COLLECTION The brothers Xavier (1867-1966) and Léon (1875-1936) Givaudan enjoyed success thanks to a flourishing industry producing synthetic perfumes, chemicals and soaps. Xavier Givaudan moved to Geneva in 1917, where he bought a town house on the corner of rue de la Cloche and quai du Mont-Blanc. In 1938, after renting it out for several years, he acquired the Domaine de Bessinge, a 50-hectare property on the site of the present-day Cologny golf course. Shortly after his death, the heirs sold the estate, while preserving a large part of the collections, including the paintings included in this catalogue. Lots 2015, 2016 and 2018 to 2022 come from this estate and appear on the market for the first time. Bessinge was owned by the famous Tronchin family, who played a key role in Geneva for almost three centuries. The estate was purchased in 1764 by Jacob Tronchin (1717-1801) and the residence built in 1840 by Henri Tronchin (1794-1865). It remained in the family's hands until it was acquired by Xavier Givaudan. Doctor Théodore Tronchin (1709-1781) was renowned throughout Europe for his medical skills and for inoculating the first children of crowned heads with vaccines (lots 2015 and 2022). The art collection really took off with Councillor François Tronchin (1704-1798). Tronchin was an eminent member of the Geneva patriarchate, a member of the Conseil des Deux-Cents and the Petit Conseil de Genève, a writer and friend of Diderot, and brought Voltaire to Geneva. A renowned politician and man of letters, he is now famous as a major art collector and painting expert, renowned from Paris to St Petersburg, as evidenced by the sale of his first collection to Empress Catherine II of Russia in 1770. On his death, Jean-Armand Tronchin, his nephew, had the artist Prud'hon and the first director of the Louvre, Vivant-Denon, choose thirty paintings to form the core of the Tronchin family art collection. Piguet has already auctioned paintings and objects from this property in March, September and December 2017. Today, we have the pleasure and honour of auctioning a remarkable group of works from this collection, including an impressive view of Geneva (lot 2018), showing the city and its ramparts at the time of the Escalade...