EUSTACHE LE SUEUR (FRENCH 1617-1655) THE DEPOSITION

Description: EUSTACHE LE SUEUR (FRENCH 1617-1655) THE DEPOSITION Oil on canvas (Dimensions: 62cm x 47cm (24.5in x 18.5in))

Provenance: Eustache Le Sueur (1617- 1655) was a prolific French artist of the seventeenth century, and one of the original founders of the French Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1648. A lifelong Parisian, Le Sueur trained with Louis XIII’s premier peintre du roi Simon Vouet from 1632 before leaving the studio and going on to be elected as one of the original twelve elders in charge of the Royal Academy’s administration. Chiefly known for his religious scenes, Le Sueur’s compositions follows in the gracefulness of his master Vouet and is remembered as one of the establishing artists of French classicism. The Deposition depicts the scene of Christ being taken down from the cross after his crucifixion. A partial label to the verso of the painting reveals that this oil on canvas was formerly in the collection of the Duke of Buccleuch at Boughton House near Kettering in Northamptonshire. The label refers to a sale in 1942 in which the Duke was the vendor –establishing him as the 8 th Duke of Buccleuch, Walter Montagu Douglas Scott, who held the dukedom from 1935 until his death in 1973. Montagu Douglas Scott was a politician and a military leader, commanding the 4 th King’s Own Scottish Borderers. Works by Eustache Le Sueur can be found in important private collections and public institutions internationally, such as the musée du Louvre in Paris, the National Gallery in London, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. Dimensions: 62cm x 47cm (24.5in x 18.5in)