Pierre-Henry Prosper Baccuët (1797-1854) - Lot 176

Pierre-Henry Prosper Baccuët (1797-1854) Landscape of Djemilah, Algeria, with the ancient arch of Caracalla, horsemen and a French fort in the distance Oil on canvas (original canvas from the Vallé house, formerly the Belot house) Signed, localized and dated lower right: June 3, 1841 / Sketch 46 x 57 cm (Accident lower left) On the back, on a sheet of paper glued to the canvas: epigraphic transcription of the inscription at the top of the Arc de Triomphe, probably in the artist's hand. On the stretcher, handwritten annotations, probably in the artist's hand: P. Baccuët, rue Notre-Dame de Lorette 23 Paris-l'Arc de triomphe romain à Djemilah Afrique 1841 Interesting sketch for the final painting, exhibited at the 1843 Salon, for which the catalog entry reads: ... "35 leagues west of Constantine. This triumphal arch is on the route followed by S. A. R. Monseigneur le Duc d'Orléans, on his way to the Bibans. This monument must be transported to Paris". Located in the wilaya of Sétif, the Arc de Triomphe was erected in 216, in honor of the emperor Caracalla, his mother Julia Domna and his late father Septimius Severus. In 1839, the Duc d'Orléans, passing through Djemila with an expeditionary force, saw it and conceived the project of having it transported to Paris to double the Carrousel triumphal arch, by erecting it between the Tuileries and the Place de la Concorde with the inscription "L'Armée d'Afrique à la France" ("The Army of Africa to France"). After his death in 1842, the project was abandoned just as the transfer was ready. The final work is now in an unlocated private collection (65 x 100 cm, Lefranc sale, Auxerre, November 5, 2000, lot 11).