Moulded, painted and gilt oak.
PROVENANCE: private collection.
LITERATURE: Gady Bénédicte, Edwards Turner, Gilles François (ed.), Nicolas Pineau (1684-1754), un sculpteur rocaille entre Paris et Saint-Pétersbourg, Paris, Les Arts décoratifs – Le Passage, 2025.
The utterly exceptional nature of this decoration, which displays a very distinctive composition in its remarkably well-preserved original gilding, cannot be overstated. This décor is all the more exceptional given that its author, Nicolas Pineau, was a prolific sculptor, but the bulk of his wood carvings has all but disappeared. If only because of their rarity, this set of wood panelling is therefore a particularly valuable testimony to Nicolas Pineau’s art in that medium.
François Gilles, Art historian and ornamental sculptor
Ill. 1 – Nicolas Pineau (1684-1754), Pilaster capital, red chalk and black chalk on laid paper. 55.5 x 43.5 cm., circa 1745. Graphite annotation on the back: several calculations and additions. Paris, musée des Arts décoratifs (inv. CD 1713). ©Les Arts Décoratifs/Christophe Dellière.
Ill. 2 – Photo Raphaël Metivet.
Ill. 3 – Nicolas Pineau (1684-1754), Door frame with hunting motif. For the Château of Croix-Fontaine, red chalk graphite, pen and black ink on laid paper, 30.4 x 25.5 cm., 1744. Paris, musée des Arts décoratifs (inv. 29187 B). ©Les Arts Décoratifs.
Ill. 3b – Nicolas Pineau (1684-1754), Door frame with hunting motif. For the Château of Croix-Fontaine, detail Ill. 3.
Ill. 4 – Nicolas Pineau (1684-1754), Ionic capital. For the house of the Prince of Isenghien in Suresnes, red chalk, graphite, pen and black ink on laid paper. 43 x 54 cm., 1743. Paris, musée des Arts décoratifs (inv. 8545.60). ©Les Arts Décoratifs/Christophe Dellière.
