[MUSÉE DU LUXEMBOURG] - Lot 126

[MUSÉE DU LUXEMBOURG] Explanation of the paintings, statues, busts, etc. Composant la Galerie du Sénat-conservateur Paris, P. Didot l'aîné, 1810 CATALOG OF THE FIRST FRENCH MUSEUM TO BE OPENED TO THE PUBLIC UNDER LOUIS XV, BEARING THE COAT OF ARMS OF MARIE-LOUISE D'AUTRICHE. COPY PRESENTED TO THE EMPRESS AFTER HER VISIT TO THE MUSEUM BY THE PRESIDENT OF THE SENATE-CURATOR, COUNT GARNIER In-12 (160 x 90 mm) COLLATION: 72 pp. CONTEMPORARY BINDING. Red morocco, gilt decoration, arms in the center of the boards, framed by a twisted garland underlined by stars, spine decorated with the figure of the Empress of the French, Marie-Louise of Austria, lining and endpapers in blue tabis with roulette framing, edges gilt. ANNOTATION: handwritten note in brown ink by a contemporary hand on the flyleaf: "book presented to S.M. l'Impératrice et Reine Marie-Louise by the President of the Senate, Count Garnier, on July 21, 1810, the day her Majesty visited the Palais du Luxembourg". PROVENANCE: Marie-Louise of Austria (1791-1847; arms) -- Michel Wittock (bookplate; Paris, V, October 24, 2013, no. 58) Faint foxing and angular wetness. At the request of Marie de Médicis (1575-1642), the Palais du Luxembourg was built by Salomon de Brosse (1565 or 1571-1626). The ornamentation was entrusted to Pierre Paul Rubens (1577-1640), who painted twenty-four canvases celebrating the eminent figure of Henri IV's wife. In 1750, under the reign of Louis XV, a historic decision was taken to allow a selection of paintings from the royal collections to be exhibited to the public near the Rubens gallery. This decision gave the Palais du Luxembourg the status of the first art museum officially open to the public in France, foreshadowing the creation of the Musée du Louvre in 1793. In 1791, the Palais became national property, as well as housing the Senate-Conservatory created by the Constitution of An VIII.