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Antoine Meunier
1765-1808
A Crowd at a Mass in the Catacomb at Naples
1787
Pen and black ink and wash, with watercolor on paper.
8 3/8 and 12 1/4 in. (213 x 318 mm)
Bequest of John M. Thayer.
2005.97
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Notes:
This view of a mass held in the Naples catacombs is by a little-known draftsman, Antoine Meunier, who specialized in views of architecture. He produced panoramas of French cities such as Alès and Nîmes, and views in Paris dated between 1787 and 1789. This view in Naples seems to be a rare example of his activity in Italy. Many of his watercolors center on architecture and include inscriptions in stone providing information about the site or event and the date (see sale, Tajan, Paris, 22 November 2017).
Inscription:
Signed and dated in black ink on bases of pillars, "Meunier En" and "MDCCLXXXVII"; inscribed on verso in brown ink, "Vue Prise et Dessiné dans l'interieur des catacombes a Naples."
Provenance:
Sale, New York, Christie's, 25 October 1984, lot 330; John M. Thayer (1944-2004), Wilmington, DE.
Associated names:
Thayer, John M. (John MacLane), 1944-2004, former owner.
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