JACQUES LE MOYNE DE MORGUES (DIEPPE 1533-1588 LONDON) Clove Pinks (Dianthus caryophyllus) watercolor and bodycolor on paper prepared as vellum, framing lines in pen and brown ink, watercolor and gold 7 5⁄8 x 5 ¾ in. (19.5 x 14.5 cm)
Drawing, watercolour and gouache over black chalk, 14,5 x 19 cm, vellum, unsigned, with ms. caption "Columba Goura Coronata". - One of the few known studies of birds attributable to the French artist Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues (1533-1588). Although many of his bird studies were copied as woodcut illustrations in the 1586 publication "La Clef des Champs", this crowned pigeon was not included. At the time of this drawing, the "Goura Coronata", or crowned pigeon was an extremely rare bird from New Guinea. Along with the bird-of-paradise, they were introduced into Europe by explorers from Portuguese and Spanish trading vessels returning from the East Indies. The drawing contains a ms. inscription "Jacques Le Moyne De Morgues" and number 24, probably by the hand of a later collector. For more information on the artist, the attribution and his oeuvre see the description in the previous lot. - Ref. P. Hulton, An Album of Plant Drawings by Jacques le Moyne de Morgues, in: The British Museum Quarterly 26 (1962), pp. 37-39. - P. Hulton, The Works of Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues, A Huguenot Artist in France, Florida and England, 2 vols., London 1977.
Drawing, watercolour and gouache over black chalk, 10,1 x 17,8 cm, vellum, unsigned, with ms. caption "Monticola Solitaria / Museicanidi". - Some of the rarest and most exceptional botanical and ornithological drawings of the 16th century were made by the Huguenot artist Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues (ca. 1533-1588). The varied circumstances of Le Moyne’s artistic production must surely be unique in the history of art; although large periods of his career are undocumented, he appears to have worked as a court artist in France, under Charles IX, is known to have travelled to Florida in 1564 as official artist and cartographer on the ill-fated French attempt to establish a colony there, and to have ended his career as a highly regarded botanical artist in Elizabethan London, where his patrons included Sir Walter Raleigh and Lady Mary Sidney. This exquisite gouache embodies and combines in a most original manner three diverse artistic traditions: the first is that of manuscript illumination in Le Moyne’s native France; the second is the recording of exotic and native flora, fauna and cultures, which was the artistic expression of the late 16th-century fascination with exploration and scientific investigation; and the third is the purely aesthetic love of flowers and gardens which was so apparent in French and Elizabethan court culture. The rediscovery of the talent of Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues as a botanical artist is also relatively recent. In 1922 Spencer Savage, librarian of the Linnean Society, recognised that a group of 59 watercolours of plants on 33 sheets, originally contained in a small volume with a late 16th-century French brown calf binding and purchased by the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1856, were in fact the work of this previously little-known artist. Much more recently a folder of 27 individual sheets was sold at Sotheby's incorporating the artist’s only known drawings of birds (sold at New York, Sotheby’s, 21 January 2004, lots 29-55). The present study of a blue rock thrush shows a more than striking affinity to "Study of a Yellowhammer", sold in the same sale (lot 48). These similarities include the minute rendering for the claws, the addition of shadows creating a highly sophisticated trompe l’oeil effect, the nuanced colouring and the idiosyncratic calligraphic orthography below the image. Although a large part of his botanical drawings are now in the collections of the British Museum and the V&A, Le Moyne de Morgue's bird drawings are a much sought-after rarity on the art market. The drawing contains a manuscript inscription "Jacques Le Moyne De Morgues" and number 16, probably by the hand of a later collector. - Ref. P. Hulton, An Album of Plant Drawings by Jacques le Moyne de Morgues, in: The British Museum Quarterly 26 (1962), pp. 37-39. - P. Hulton, The Works of Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues, A Huguenot Artist in France, Florida and England, 2 vols., London 1977.
Attribué à Jacques LE MOYNE de MORGUES (Dieppe, vers 1533-Londres, 1588) Outina, chef Timucua Huile aquarellée sur panneau de noyer Attr. to J. Le Moyne de Morgues, Outina, chief Timucua, watercolor oil on walnut panel 58,5 x 42,5 CM • 23 X 16 3/4 IN. €40,000-60,000 Outina, chef Timucua en Floride, emmène l'Européen vers une terre inconnue, vaste terrain d'aventures décrit par les récits de ceux qui en reviennent, fascinés par leurs découvertes. Marquée par le maniérisme européen de la fin du XVIe siècle, cette image est un témoignage exceptionnel de ce que l'on connaissait alors du Nouveau Monde en Occident. Cette figure est à rapprocher des Grands voyages , suite de treize volumes in folio publiés par Théodore de Bry et ses fils de 1590 à 1634. Originaire de Liège, le protestant Théodore de Bry (1528-1598), chassé par les persécutions religieuses, s'établit en 1570 comme libraire et graveur à Francfort. Un siècle après la découverte de l'Amérique et les débuts de l'imprimerie, ses Grands voyages divulguent, pour la première fois, les nouvelles connaissances en s'aidant de gravures en taille-douce établies d'après des notes et dessins pris sur le vif. Pour les mettre à la portée d'un plus grand nombre, quatre éditions sont envisagées : en latin, allemand, anglais et français. Ce programme est tenu en 1590 pour le premier volume qui relate l'expédition anglaise de 1585 en Virginie. Le deuxième concerne la Floride. Il est édité en 1591, en latin à l'intention des lecteurs catholiques, et en allemand à l'intention des lecteurs protestants. Théodore de Bry choisit de s'appuyer sur les travaux de Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues pour l'illustrer. Ce cartographe dieppois au service de Charles IX accompagne en 1564 une expédition partie fonder une colonie protestante en Floride. Il doit " relever le profil des côtes, la profondeur et le cours des rivières, consigner la position des villes et des ports, prendre aussi des croquis montrant le comportement des indigènes et tout ce qui semblerait digne d'intérêt dans cette région " (cf. Expo. p. 73). Le site retenu, Fort Caroline, a été repéré dès 1562 pour répondre aux ambitions de Gaspard de Coligny qui espère ainsi, non seulement éloigner les Huguenots de France mais aussi s'implanter dans un endroit stratégique proche des territoires contrôlés par les Espagnols sur la route des caravelles chargées d'or et d'argent rentrant à Séville. Agacé, Philippe II envoye le duc d'Albe et son armada massacrer ces hérétiques et prendre la place forte de Jacksonville. R.A. Skelton émet l'hypothèse (cf. Hulton p. 45) que, blessé en 1565 au cours de combats, Jacques Le Moyne se consacre à des relevés et observations avant de regagner la France qu'il doit quitter après les massacres de la Saint Barthélémy, se réfugiant alors en Angleterre où il s'adonne à la botanique. Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues est connu aujourd'hui par trois albums d'études aquarellées et miniatures de plantes et d'animaux qui témoignent de son talent dans ce domaine. Deux, démembrés, sont conservés à Londres, au Victoria and Albert Museum et au British Museum. Le troisième, dans sa reliure d'origine, est à la Garden Library à Washington. On lui doit également la première carte de Floride et une topographie des lieux. Théodore de Bry tire de ses œuvres 42 planches reprises dans les éditions latine, allemande et française. Elles racontent l'arrivée des Français dans cette contrée et leur accueil par les Timucuas dont elles décrivent l' organisation politique et les coutumes avec un souci de vérité ethnographique. La figure d'Outina, inversée par rapport à ce panneau, apparaît planche 18 (cf.ill. ci-contre et Hulton, T.I, P116 p. 209 et T.II, planche 110). On y voit des veuves se placer sous sa protection en l' implorant de venger la perte de leurs époux. La stature du chef, sa musculature, le rapport disproportionné avec les figures d'européens confirment les observations du capitaine Ribault : [Les Floridiens] vont entièrement nus et d'une belle stature, puissants, beaux, et aussi bien bâtis et proportionnés qu'aucun peuple du monde, très doux, courtois et de bon naturel ". Tatoué des pieds à la tête, il a les cheveux relevés en un petit chignon duquel pendent une plume et une queue de raton-laveur qui lui tombe sur les reins. Une sorte de serre-tête maintient une couronne de plumes. Il porte un pectoral métallique circulaire pendu à un collier de cuir et, en guise de boucles d'oreilles, des vessies de poisson gonflées. Sa ceinture, ses brassards et ses genouillères sont constitués de plaques métalliques rondes et il tient un bâton de bois à la main. Le feu, la lance et le bouclier apparaissent, en sens inverse également, dans la planche 11 (cf. ill. ci-dessous et Hulton, T.I, P109 p. 206 et T.II, planche 103) qui illustre le rituel suivi par le roi Satouriwa pour demander la victoire avant d'aller au combat. Quant au fond de carte avec deux caravelles qui évoquent les échanges entre l'Amérique et l'Europe, il rappelle la fonction de cartographe de Lemoyne de Morgues. La seule oeuvre retrouvée ayant servi de base aux illustrations du volume concernant la découverte de la Floride est une miniature sur velin (Athore montre à Laudonnière la colonne érigée par Ribault, 15 x 21,5 cm, cf. Hulton, T.I, P106 p. 205 et T. II, planche 100 ) . Réapparue en 1901 elle est considérée comme ayant été peinte par l'artiste à son retour en France, en 1566 (cf. Hulton p. 13). Elle permet de juger de la fidélité des gravures par rapport au motif original. Nous ne connaissons pas actuellement d' œuvre peinte par Lemoyne de Morgues en Floride. Celle-ci, dont le support est un panneau d'une essence utilisée dans la marine, a pu être peinte lors de son voyage de retour puis être acquise par Théodore de Bry auprès de sa veuve, à Londres, en 1588 en vue de réaliser ses planches. Bibliographie en rapport : -Paul HULTON : The work of Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues, a huguenot artist in France, Florida and England (Londres, 1977) -[Expo. Paris, 1976-1977] L'Amérique vue par l'Europe Communication orale de monsieur Gracia, spécialiste de bois et parquetage
Attributed to JACQUES LE MOYNE DE MORGUES (France circa 1533 -1588 London) Branch with leaves, exotic fruits and flowers as well as a wasp before a lapis lazuli blue background. Tempera on vellum within a painted gold edging. 14.7 x 11.2 cm. In a lavish slipcase. . --------------- JACQUES LE MOYNE DE MORGUES (ZUGESCHRIEBEN) (Frankreich, um 1533 -1588 London) Zweig mit Blättern, exotischen Stachelfrüchten und Blüten sowie einer Wespe vor Lapislazuli blauem Hintergrund. Tempera auf Pergament in gemalter Goldeinfassung. 14,7 x 11,2 cm. In aufwendig gestaltetem Schuber. Der Künstler hat als erster den amerikanischen Kontinent betreten, um dort botanische Studien zu machen und Pflanzen zu dokumentieren. Im elisabethanischen London galt er als ein bekannter Maler für die Botanik.
Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues (Dieppe ca. 1533-1588 London) A swallow and a double gilliflower black chalk, watercolor, and bodycolor on an old album sheet, watermark armorial 4 ¾ x 7 ¼ in. (12 cm. x 18.3 cm)
Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues (Dieppe ca. 1533-1588 London) Two narcissi and a columbine, a dragonfly and a stag beetle black chalk, watercolor, bodycolor on an old album sheet, watermark crescents with a crown 6 ½ x 7 5/8 in. (16.4 x 19.3 cm)
Jacques le Moyne de Morgues (Dieppe, c. 1533-1588, London). Watercolor on Vellum. Painted during the 1560's. 7 1/2 x 5 5/8 inches. "Jacques le Moyne de Morgues was born in 1533, around Dieppe in France. Until well into the present century, our knowledge of Le Moyne was extremely limited, and largely confined to the footnotes of inaccessible ethnographic bibliographies, where he figures as the writer and illustrator of a short history of Laudonniere’s attempt to establish a Huguenot settlement in Florida between 1564 and 1565. In 1922, however, Spencer Savage, librarian of the Linnean Society, made a discovery that opened the way to the subsequent definition of Le Moyne as an artistic personality; he recognized that a group of fifty-nine watercolors of plants contained in a small volume, purchased by the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1856 solely for its fine sixteenth-century French binding, was in fact by Le Moyne. Savage’s publications relating to this discovery paved the way for subsequent attributions to the artist of other important groups of drawings and watercolors, the most notable being held by the British Museum and the Oak Spring Library of Virginia. The two works below are both watercolor on prepared vellum. They came from a magnificent manuscript, a rare jewel of the sixteenth century that fully justifies Le Moyne’s reputation as one of the most exceptional artists to have worked in Elizabethan England. The delicate nuances of color and three-dimensional quality of the images are truly breathtaking and skillfully achieved. Each composition stands alone as a masterpiece."
Jacques le Moyne de Morgues (Dieppe, c. 1533-1588, London). Watercolor on Vellum. Painted during the 1560's. 7 1/2 x 5 5/8 inches. "Jacques le Moyne de Morgues was born in 1533, around Dieppe in France. Until well into the present century, our knowledge of Le Moyne was extremely limited, and largely confined to the footnotes of inaccessible ethnographic bibliographies, where he figures as the writer and illustrator of a short history of Laudonniere’s attempt to establish a Huguenot settlement in Florida between 1564 and 1565. In 1922, however, Spencer Savage, librarian of the Linnean Society, made a discovery that opened the way to the subsequent definition of Le Moyne as an artistic personality; he recognized that a group of fifty-nine watercolors of plants contained in a small volume, purchased by the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1856 solely for its fine sixteenth-century French binding, was in fact by Le Moyne. Savage’s publications relating to this discovery paved the way for subsequent attributions to the artist of other important groups of drawings and watercolors, the most notable being held by the British Museum and the Oak Spring Library of Virginia. The two works below are both watercolor on prepared vellum. They came from a magnificent manuscript, a rare jewel of the sixteenth century that fully justifies Le Moyne’s reputation as one of the most exceptional artists to have worked in Elizabethan England. The delicate nuances of color and three-dimensional quality of the images are truly breathtaking and skillfully achieved. Each composition stands alone as a masterpiece."
Jacques le Moyne de Morgues (Dieppe, c. 1533-1588, London). Watercolor on Vellum. Painted during the 1560's. 7 1/2 x 5 5/8 inches. "Jacques le Moyne de Morgues was born in 1533, around Dieppe in France. Until well into the present century, our knowledge of Le Moyne was extremely limited, and largely confined to the footnotes of inaccessible ethnographic bibliographies, where he figures as the writer and illustrator of a short history of Laudonniere’s attempt to establish a Huguenot settlement in Florida between 1564 and 1565. In 1922, however, Spencer Savage, librarian of the Linnean Society, made a discovery that opened the way to the subsequent definition of Le Moyne as an artistic personality; he recognized that a group of fifty-nine watercolors of plants contained in a small volume, purchased by the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1856 solely for its fine sixteenth-century French binding, was in fact by Le Moyne. Savage’s publications relating to this discovery paved the way for subsequent attributions to the artist of other important groups of drawings and watercolors, the most notable being held by the British Museum and the Oak Spring Library of Virginia. The two works below are both watercolor on prepared vellum. They came from a magnificent manuscript, a rare jewel of the sixteenth century that fully justifies Le Moyne’s reputation as one of the most exceptional artists to have worked in Elizabethan England. The delicate nuances of color and three-dimensional quality of the images are truly breathtaking and skillfully achieved. Each composition stands alone as a masterpiece."
Jacques le Moyne de Morgues (Dieppe, c. 1533-1588, London). Watercolor on Vellum. Painted during the 1560's. 7 1/2 x 5 5/8 inches. "Jacques le Moyne de Morgues was born in 1533, around Dieppe in France. Until well into the present century, our knowledge of Le Moyne was extremely limited, and largely confined to the footnotes of inaccessible ethnographic bibliographies, where he figures as the writer and illustrator of a short history of Laudonniere’s attempt to establish a Huguenot settlement in Florida between 1564 and 1565. In 1922, however, Spencer Savage, librarian of the Linnean Society, made a discovery that opened the way to the subsequent definition of Le Moyne as an artistic personality; he recognized that a group of fifty-nine watercolors of plants contained in a small volume, purchased by the Victoria and Albert Museum in 1856 solely for its fine sixteenth-century French binding, was in fact by Le Moyne. Savage’s publications relating to this discovery paved the way for subsequent attributions to the artist of other important groups of drawings and watercolors, the most notable being held by the British Museum and the Oak Spring Library of Virginia. The two works below are both watercolor on prepared vellum. They came from a magnificent manuscript, a rare jewel of the sixteenth century that fully justifies Le Moyne’s reputation as one of the most exceptional artists to have worked in Elizabethan England. The delicate nuances of color and three-dimensional quality of the images are truly breathtaking and skillfully achieved. Each composition stands alone as a masterpiece."
Jacques Le Moyne de Morgues (c. 1533 - 1588). Copperplate engraving. Frankfurt: Theodore de Bry, 1591. 15 x 18 inches sheet. 26 x 29 1/4 inches framed. Jacques Le Moyne’s map of Florida and the Southeastern portion of the United States is one of the most important 16th Century maps of the region, and the first map to accurately represent the Florida coastline.
