LOUYRETTE Eugène (EN)
Biographical Article
Guillaume Eugène Louyrette was born in 1826 in Veigné, Indre-et-Loire and died on April 14, 1901 in Paris. He was the son of Guillaume Louyrette and Adélaïde Victorine Malapert, and he married Louise Bouthier (died June 11, 1884) in Tours on September 4, 1861 (AN, MC/ET/XLIV/NC/14).
He distinguished himself in the 1860s and 1870s by organising a large number of Asian art auctions, mainly in Paris, but also, to a lesser extent, in London (see sales appendices).
Eugène Louyrette enacted his first auction at the Hôtel Drouot on June 4, 1862, under the hammer of Charles Pillet, who would remain the designated auctioneer for all his Parisian sales. For this one, as with almost all in the future, he changed the spelling of his surname to "Louirette". The sale of June 1862 was followed by two others in December of the same year, after which he disappeared for a whole year. During this time, he probably left to stock up in China. This is at least what is suggested by the large stock sold at the December 1863 sale, followed by eight sales in 1864. In just one year, the name of Louirette became definitively associated with the biggest sales of art from China and Japan. This is evidenced by the report of Pierre Dubois in the Moniteur des arts of December 20, 1864: "The name of Louirette [sic], placed at the head of a catalogue of objects from China and Japan, is by itself, among aficionados, the best recommendation. However little one has followed the Hôtel Drouot for a year or two, it is impossible that one has not at least heard of these sales of first-class Chinese curiosities, which at the end of January and last March, introduced some of the most precious samples of Chinese art into commerce and into our private collections" (Dubois P., 1864, np).
Taking advantage of the forced opening of China and then of Japan by Western powers, Eugène Louyrette made his way into the Asian art trade, importing objects himself from these countries. The titles of his sales catalogs, like the rare testimonies about him, do mention these trips to China which he seems to have visited frequently. Whether it was simply an advertising ploy, or whether he truly was a globetrotter, it is difficult to attest to the presence of Eugène Louirette in China. If we look at the dates on which his sales were held, we see significant irregularities in their frequency, which would rather lean in favour of prolonged absences, implying trips to China. We also note that in the early 1860s he frequently changed his address. The press contains some temporal indications of his departures; a certain F. Camus wrote: "The desire to see this country again persuaded M. Louirette [sic] to get rid of the last part of his collections” (December 18th 1864, np).
Louyrette's name disappeared from auctions towards the end of the 1870s. In all, some 54 sales are associated with him, 52 of which were organised in Paris and two in London (see list of sales). In 1888, he reappeared punctually during the sale for the benefit of Marguerite Pillet, the daughter of Charles Pillet, for which he donated several works (Lugt, 47127, p. 5.). He ended his days free from want, having acquired in 1876 a house at 12, rue Blanche in Paris, at the corner of rue Blanche and rue de la Tour-aux-Dames, which he partially rented as a shop or place of residence for an annual fee of nearly 40,000 francs (AN, MC/ET/XLIV/NC/14). During this period, he might have devoted more time to painting. His death certificate describes him as an "artist" and his posthumous inventory lists several dozen paintings attributed to him; indeed, his easel and his brush cabinet were sold during his estate sale (Lugt 59195, lot no. 158 and 159). Eugène Louyrette also surrounded himself with Masters paintings; in his personal collection was one signed Eugène Delacroix (1798-1863), as well as several others by Jules Breton (1827-1906), Eugène Boudin (1824-1898), Jules Dupré (1811-1889), and Ernest Quost (1842-1931) (AN, MC/ET/XLIV/NC/14, lugt 59195).
Eugène Louyrette died a widower and childless on April 13, 1901. The six children of his sister Louise Amélie Louyrette inherited this property on his death (AN, MC/ET/XLIV/NC/14). He is buried in the cemetery of Neuilly sur Seine.
Promoter of Chinese Cloisonné Enamelware
Reports on the Louyrette sales are unanimous: it was above all the Chinese cloisonné enamels that made his sales successful (Dubois P., 1864, n.p.; Moniteur des arts, December 13, 1872, n.p.).
Such objects received frequent notice, as evidenced by an article from 1869 by Pierre Dubois indicating the presence of a "screen with nine leaves, decorated with plates in cloisonné enamel ringed with fretwork, foliage, standing out in vigorous tones on a turquoise blue background” (Dubois P., 1869, n.p.). These pieces were often monumental, such as the huge braziers (no 79) from the sale in April 1864. The descriptions of these lots suggest that Eugène Louyrette had managed to get his hands on pieces that were absolutely exceptional: monumental incense burners, complete altar fittings made up of five pieces (Lugt 28187, lot no 8), zoomorphic sets sold in pairs (Lugt 28187, lot no 9.). The organisation of the sales catalogues betray the pre-eminence of cloisonné enamels, which are almost always at the top of the section. Cloisonné also fetched the highest prices: at a sale in 1864 a pair of cloisonné enamel incense burners could fetch 14,000 francs (Lugt 27718, lot no 1).
Rare Items
In addition to the cloisonné enamels, Guillaume Eugène Louyrette also contributed to introducing particularly rare objects to the European market for the time, such as Chinese painted albums. We find in the catalogue of the sale of March 1 and 2, 1864 no less than five painted albums (lots no 171-175). The descriptions, although succinct, give indications on the iconography, or a translation of the title of the album in question. For example, there is the Livre des abymes, which contains "twelve mountainous landscapes with waterfalls and inlets" (lot no 174). These short translations invite us to wonder about Eugène Louyrette's linguistic capacities in Chinese. Although there is no evidence to verify his mastery of the language, the choice of objects and the repeated stays in China could suggest a certain fluency in Chinese. In this same series of albums, there is also a series of twenty painted sheets (lot no 172) that is very similar to a set belonging to the collection of Adolphe Thiers (1797-1877), now in the Louvre Museum (inv. TH 278). A similar series from the Florine Langweil (1861-1958) collection is in the Musée des Arts Décoratifs in Strasbourg (inv. MAD XIII 86).
Louyrette or the Recipe for a Successful Sale
The sales organised by Eugène Louyrette were a success almost from the start. In addition to presenting objects of a new type sold as being imported directly from China, the sales were particularly well promoted.
Some of his catalogues include a preface by the expert, a rare phenomenon, who did not fail to emphasise the works’ rarity by evoking the "perilous journeys" which made it possible to collect them (Febvre A., 1864, p. 1). These warnings also served to remind sellers of the old Louyrette sales when the latter returned after long years of absence "traveling through China and Japan" (Febvre A., 1867, p. 2). It is certain that Eugène Louyrette was not only able to get his supplies in China, but also by simply crossing the Channel and acquiring objects during the major London sales. The sale catalogues of Christie's house, which show the annotations of the auctioneers, also list the buyers. We are thus able to follow his trail at several sales of Asian art: those of February 3-4, 1870, January 24, 1872, November 13-14, 1872, January 24, April 23 and July 1, 1873. It is interesting to note that, like a number of other dealers of the time, he was a sort of ferryman between the two major sales platforms for Asian art in the second half of the 19th century, London and Paris. He collaborated in particular with another of these "smugglers", the merchant Monbro, whose father had a shop between Paris and London and with whom he carried out a joint sale on November 15 and 16, 1869 (Saint-Raymond L., 2021, p. 235- 236). This frequent attendance at auctions certainly sharpened his eye while making him attentive to the expectations of collectors on both sides of the Channel.
The Louyrette sales were also appreciated for their catalogues, in particular their long descriptions of objects from the perspectives of both form and decoration (Dubois P., 1864, n.p.). No 7 of the sale of December 22, 1864 is described in these terms: “Large incense burner with domed lid; handles raised to S in gilt bronze, connected to the piece by open cylindrical scrolls; the belly, of rounded shape, is supported by four unwelded straight legs. – This piece, splendid in its beauty of form, offers an exceptional setting: from the base of the feet, the waves of the sea rise to the middle of the body, between each foot rises a mountain forming one of the cardinal points of the Celestial Empire, whose protective deities appear in the middle of an azure sky. – At the top of the body, fluting in gilded bronze, dominated by a circle offering a cloisonné frieze with a lapis blue background; on the lid, bats and four medallions with gilt characters." To these rich descriptions are sometimes added the piece’s dimensions.
It was not just a question of going to the site to bring back objects that could arouse the interest of amateurs, it was also essential to select them with a sure eye (see d'Abrigeon P., article on Emile Tastet). Eugène Louyrette's contemporaries praised his taste and his ability to unearth rare objects: "He knew, better than anyone, so far, to rummage with a felicitous hand in the bazaars of the Far East" (Dubois P., 1869, np). Some commentators pushed the praise so far as to consider him the finest connoisseur of Chinese art: "No traveler in the Far East has yet explored China, from the double point of view of art and commerce, with more persistence and success than M. Louirette” (Herran V., 1869). The novelty of the objects was also an important factor in the valuation of Louyrette sales: "The regulars of the Hôtel Drouot who know what promise these sales hold and who count on a few new surprises, not without reason, always anticipate them with curiosity” (Dubois P., Febuary 16 th 1869, n.p.).
On the other hand, while the lengthy descriptions were appreciated, the absence of dates accompanying the dynastic names was sometimes criticised: "It would be so easy, however, to slip a date between two parentheses. Perhaps it is only so as not to humiliate our ignorance that the experts do not do this, but in this they take politeness too far” (Dubois P., 1864, n.p.). We also note that the Louyrette catalogues make frequent use of Chinese terminology, in particular to determine the shape of the objects, without specifying the function: for example, the ding (鼎), then spelled ting, vases formed of a circular container mounted on feet, with a shape inherited from archaic bronze vases (sale of December 22, 1864), or the brush pots, bitong (筆筒), then spelled Pitong (Lugt 29456, lot no. 64).
An essential component of the sales’ success was the significant media coverage they enjoyed. The newspaper Le Moniteur des arts in particular would announce the sales and communicate the exceptional results (see bibliography).
Enjoying his legitimately acquired notoriety, Eugène Louyrette allowed himself to use his name as a label of good quality for his sales. The words "Collection Louirette" or "Louirette sale" even precede the title of some catalogues (e.g. Lugt 27718 and 33758). But these indications are rather rare if we consider the sales as a whole and it is often the sales report that makes it possible to identify the seller. It must be assumed that Eugène Louyrette only identified himself when he presented objects of superior quality. The sales which identify the seller in the title were among the most successful of his career (eg Lugt 29644: 140,974 francs, Lugt 33532: 137,969 francs).
Until the 1890s, the Louyrette provenance remained an important pedigree for Asian art objects. It is mentioned in several catalogues after its long series of sales in the years 1860-1870 (eg 1895, Lugt 53526, lot no. 93, p. 35).
A Personal Collection
The few objects remaining in his possession, and which can be considered as his personal collection, were sold at public auction by the ministry of Maître Octave Nottin on May 20 and 21, 1901 for the sum of 36,137 francs (AN, MC/ET/XLIV/ NC/14). In addition to the aforementioned paintings, there were vases in cloisonné enamel, marble, porcelain mounted in bronze, statuettes in ivory and bronze, a fireplace set by Beurdeley in gilt bronze, ornamental furniture in gilt bronze and marble. For this final sale, personal this time, Eugène Louyrette requested in his will that his name not be mentioned, thus remaining forever the famous globe-trotting merchant of the 1860s (AN, MC/ET/ XLIV/NC/14).
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