Jean-Michel Moreau, known as Moreau the Younger
Paris, 1741 – 1814
The denial of Saint Peter
Pen, brown ink and brown wash
50 x 75 mm – 1 15/16 x 2 15/16 in.
Signed and dated lower right on the steps of the staircase: J. Mr. Moreau Le Jeune/1785
and
Simon Peter cutting off Malchus’ ear and the arrest of Jesus Christ
Pen, brown ink and brown wash
50 x 75 mm – 1 15/16 x 2 15/16 in.
Provenance:
- Pierre Guiraud collection according to sales catalog, Enghien on November 20, 1977, lot 85.
- Beaussant-Lefèvre sale of June 8, 2007, Paris – Lot 15.
Born in Paris in 1741, Jean-Michel Moreau was first of all a student of Louis-Joseph Le Lorrain, whom he accompanied in 1758 to Saint Petersburg. Then, on his return to Paris in 1760, he took lessons from the engraver Jacques-Philippe Le Bas reproducing the paintings of old and contemporary masters. He provides numerous drawings intended to be engraved for the Collection of antiques from the Count of Caylus and for l’Encyclopedia of Diderot and d’Alembert. He collaborates with several artists including Boucher and Gravelot for the illustrations of the Metamorphoses d’Ovid.
These two drawings illustrate episodes taken from the Passion of Christ, events which preceded the death of Jesus Christ. The first drawing relates the moment when Jesus is arrested by soldiers in the Garden of Olives and when Simon Peter cuts off the ear of Malchus, servant of the high priest Caiaphas[1]. Jean-Michel Moreau chooses to represent in the foreground the moment described by the evangelist John (18:10): « Simon-Pierre, who had a sword, drew it, struck the servant of the high priest and cut off his right ear » and, in the background, the arrest of Jesus. The second drawing narrates the passage where Simon Peter who is in the courtyard of the high priest of the temple of Jerusalem is attacked by a servant who identifies him as a Galilean, disciple of Jesus, but he denies three times knowing him[2]. Jean-Michel Moreau insists on the determined attitude of the young woman who advances towards the apostle to accuse him while he remains motionless, raising his arm in apostasy. The date of 1785 could correspond with the stay he made in Rome for six months during which he acquired a more lively style. The artist illustrated episodes from the life of Christ, some of which were engraved by Hyppolyte Pauquet (1797-1871) such as Christ in the Garden of Olives and Christ’s Entry into Jerusalem.
Condition report – Good condition. The two drawings are pasted on an old mount.
[1] This episode is recounted in the four gospels (Matthew 26, 51-52, Mark 14,47, Luke 22,49-51 and John 18, 10-11). [2] This episode is also recounted in the four gospels (Matthew 26-34; Mark 14-30; Luke 22-34; John 13, 38)
