Wannenes 29 November 2017 part 2: Joseph-Désiré Court

Wannenes, from Italy, sells on 29 November a "19th century painter" Murder of Caesar, a large work (141 by 173 cm) estimated at 9,500 to 12,000 Euro.

The auction house is enthusiastic about the work, but gives no indications about the artist or even a country of origin. In fact, it is a version of a work by Joseph-Désiré Court (1797-1865), French Classical history painter, student of Antoine-Jean Gros. His breakthrough came with "The Death of Caesar" at the Salon of 1827.

There are multiple versions this work. The one above, from the Fabre Museum in Montpellier, seems to be a study.

The final version, from the Museum of Arras (and presumably the same one as on the 1827 Salon), is clearly the same composition as the one for sale here.

So, is the one now for sale a final study for this work, and thus a very important work in its own right and something French musea would probably like to own? Or is it a large-scale but somewhat rough copy made after the finished work? Ah, that's always a tricky question. I think in this case it is a copy, and thus not the major work the auction house hopes to have . It should still be worth 2,000 to 3,000 as a well-painted though not very detailed copy, but not the asking price.