The Musée de Vizille hangs one of its recent acquisitions

17/4/24 - Acquisition - Vizille, Musée de la Révolution française - A large canvas by the painter Hippolyte Pierre Delanoy, The Desk of Citizen Carnot or The Table of Citizen Carnot (ill. 1), has just been hung in the Musée de la Révolution Française in Vizille. Passed through the hands of a certain Mr Picart, it entered the collection of Sadi Carnot and then remained in his descendants until it was acquired directly from a private individual in 2022; it was put up for public sale in April of the same year at Digard Auction but failed to find a buyer. This purchase was financed half by the museum and half by the Fonds Régional d’Acquisition des Musées. Between the time of acquisition and the actual hanging, the painting had to be restored to some extent, but above all a frame had to be found for it, which is always relatively complex. Alain Chevalier, Director of the Musée de Vizille [1], explained that in the majority of cases, Delanoy’s works had a Barbizon-style frame, made of wood and gilded stucco with a motif of ribbons, laurel and acanthus leaves and pearls. These frames, made in the second half of the 19th century, were not always of the highest quality and have suffered considerable damage over time. Delanoy’s painting arrived at the museum without its original frame, and had to be replaced so that it could be presented to the public with dignity. This has now been done.

1. Hippolyte Pierre Delanoy (1849-1899)
The desk of citizen Carnot ou The Table of citizen Carnot, 1880
Oil on canvas - 85 x 135 cm
Vizille, Musée de la Révolution française
Photo : Vizille, Musée de la Révolution française

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Hippolyte Delanoy was the son of Jacques Delanoy (1820-1890), a renowned decorative painter from Lyon. He was trained at the École des Beaux-Arts in Lyon and by Charles Gleyre, to whom his father entrusted him before he left for Paris and was taught by Barrias, Bonnat and Vollon. On the advice of the latter two, he…