Alexandre Joseph Paillet (1743–1814) was a prominent Parisian auctioneer and art dealer in the late 18th century, holding 145 sales between the years 1774 and 1793. He also served as an agent to The Crown from 1777 to 1789, acquiring paintings for the museum in the Louvre. Paillet was the principal rival to

Jean-Baptiste-Pierre Le Brun Jean-Baptiste-Pierre Le Brun (1748 – 7 August 1813) was a French painter, art collector and art dealer. Simon Denis was his pupil. Life Born in Paris, he was the son of the painter Pierre Le Brun, who was himself a great-nephew of another pa ...

.National Gallery, Washington: ''Alexandre Joseph Paillet,'' Biographie, website. Retrieved 21 February 2024The Frick Collection, New York: ''Alexandre Joseph Paillet,'' Biographie, website. Retrieved 21 February 2024The British Museum, London: ''Alexandre Joseph Paillet,'' Biographie, website. Retrieved 21 February 2024

Biography

Little is known about Alexandre Joseph Paillet's early life. There are few sources and the information is sparse. Alexandre Joseph Paillet was born in Paris on 21 March 1743. He was the youngest of three children of Pierre Paillet, a master tailor, and Marie-Anne Paillet, née Dugué-Desnoyers. He obviously trained as a painter and restorer, as he became a member of the Académie de Saint-Luc in 1771. This was a very common starting point for people who later wanted to work in the art trade.JoLynn Edwards: ''Alexandre-Joseph Paillet – Expert et marchand de tableaux à la fin du XVIIIe siècle,'' Arthena – Association pour la diffusion de l'Histoire de l'Art. 8, rue François Miron, Paris, p. 15

Art dealer and auctioneer

In 1768, Alexandre-Joseph Paillet made his first steps in the art trade when he bought paintings at auctions, which he later resold. As one would expect at the time, Paillet primarily purchased paintings from ''The Three Painting Schools'' (France, Italy and the Netherlands). However, after assisting at auctions for six years, he then entered the auction business himself. Paillet held his first auction on 17 February 1774. Between 1777 and 1787, he also went on study trips abroad, amongst others to England and the Netherlands, in order to further deepen his general knowledge of art and art history.JoLynn Edwards: ''Alexandre-Joseph Paillet – Expert et marchand de tableaux à la fin du XVIIIe siècle,'' Arthena – Association pour la diffusion de l'Histoire de l'Art. 8, rue François Miron, Paris, 1996, pp. 16–17 Paillet, who was always a dealer and an auctioneer at the same time, increasingly appeared as an important bidder at auctions from the 1770s onwards. It was the auction of the famous collection of

Louis-François Trouard Louis-François Trouard (1729–1804) was a French architect. Biography Trouard was born in Paris to a wealthy father who was a sculptor and supplier of marble to the king. Trouard studied with Louis-Adam Loriot at the Académie de peinture. ...

in 1779 that gave a boost to his career as an auctioneer. In addition, his career was certainly helped by the fact that he increasingly acted as an agent for Charles Claude Flahaut de La Billarderie, Comte d'Angiviller, in the acquisition of paintings for the king's private collection as well as for the museum in the Louvre.JoLynn Edwards: ''Alexandre-Joseph Paillet – Expert et marchand de tableaux à la fin du XVIIIe siècle,'' Arthena – Association pour la diffusion de l'Histoire de l'Art. 8, rue François Miron, Paris, 1996, p. 18

At the peak of his career: The Hôtel Bullion and the Besenval collection

Between 1774 and 1775 Alexandre Joseph Paillet and his wife, Marie-Félicité-Thecle, née Soisson, lived on the Rue Thibautodé, where Paillet also held his first auctions. On 10 April 1775, they moved into the Hôtel Schomberg d'Aligre on the Rue Saint-Honoré, where they, together with the art dealer Charles-André Mercier (1741–1823) and his wife, rented residential and business premises. On 21 April 1775, Paillet conducted the first auction at the Hôtel Schomberg d'Aligre. However, only three years later, on 5 October 1778, after Mercier's bankruptcy, Paillet bought land and buildings attached to the Hôtel Bullion on the Rue Plâtrière, now called Rue Jean-Jacques-Rousseau. Paillet had the premises converted into his new residence and business location by the architect Ange-Jacques Gabriel. It was here, in the 1780s and early 1790s, that Paillet experienced the height of his career. Paillet was now increasingly entrusted with the sale of large and important collections. Even though his business premises were no longer in the Hôtel Bullion at this point, it was on 10 August 1795 that he held one of his most famous auctions: The sale of the entire contents of the

Hôtel de Besenval The Hôtel de Besenval is a historic ''hôtel particulier'' in Paris with a ''Court of honor (architecture), cour d'honneur'' and a large English landscape garden, an architectural style commonly known as ''entre cour et jardin'' – meaning a resi ...

. The sale also included a version of the famous painting '' La Gimblette'' by Jean-Honoré Fragonard (lot 77). The proceeds from the sale of the collection of

Pierre Victor, Baron de Besenval de Brunstatt Pierre is a masculine given name. It is a French form of the name Peter. Pierre originally meant "rock" or "stone" in French (derived from the Greek word πέτρος (''petros'') meaning "stone, rock", via Latin "petra"). It is a translation ...

, a Swiss military officer in French service, were almost two million

livres The (; ; abbreviation: ₶.) was one of numerous currencies used in medieval France, and a unit of account (i.e., a monetary unit used in accounting) used in Early Modern France. The 1262 monetary reform established the as 20 , or 80.88 gr ...

. An enormous sum.JoLynn Edwards: ''Alexandre-Joseph Paillet – Expert et marchand de tableaux à la fin du XVIIIe siècle,'' Arthena – Association pour la diffusion de l'Histoire de l'Art. 8, rue François Miron, Paris, 1996, pp. 19–22A. J. Paillet (commissaire-priseur): ''Catalogue de tableaux précieux, dessins, gouaches et miniatures, etc. (de M. de Besenval),'' de l'imprimerie du Journal de Paris, rue J. J. Rousseau, n° 14. Vente aux enchères, avec un total de 222 lots, rue de l'Université, n° 905, entre la rue de Beaune & celle des St.-Pères, Paris, le 23 Thermidor, an 3e (10 août 1795)Jean-Jacques de Dardel: ''L'hôtel de Besenval – siège de l'ambassade de Suisse en France,'' Labor et Fides, Genève, 2013, p. 84RKD – Netherlands Institute for Art History: ''Alexandre Joseph Paillet,'' Biographie, website. Retrieved 21 February 2024.

The loss of the Hôtel Bullion

However, although he was professionally successful, Alexandre Joseph Paillet always had to struggle with financial difficulties, especially since he had bought parts of the Hôtel Bullion. On 30 July 1793, he had to sell his premises in the Hôtel Bullion. Until the end of August 1794, Paillet continued his business at the Hôtel Bullion. He then moved his business to different addresses. The last address, where Paillet conducted auctions, was in the outbuildings of the Mont-de-piété at 24 and 25 Rue Vivienne in Paris. Paillet also served as ''garde-magasin (storekeeper)'' of the Mont-de-piété until his death on 16 January 1814.JoLynn Edwards: ''Alexandre-Joseph Paillet – Expert et marchand de tableaux à la fin du XVIIIe siècle,'' Arthena – Association pour la diffusion de l'Histoire de l'Art. 8, rue François Miron, Paris, 1996, pp. 24–25

Marriage, children and grandchildren

On 9 May 1773, Alexandre Joseph Paillet married Marie-Félicité-Thecle Soisson. They had about five children. To be mentioned are: * Marie-Clémentine-Joséphine-Louise Paillet who married the painter Alexis-Nicolas Pérignon ''Le jeune'' (1785–1854). Their son Alexis-Joseph Pérignon became a painter too. In 1856, Alexis-Joseph became director of the École nationale supérieure d'art de Dijon as well as director of the

Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon The Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon is a museum of fine arts opened in 1787 in Dijon, France. It is one of the main and oldest museums of France. It is located in the historic city centre of Dijon and housed in the former ducal palace which was ...

. * Jeanne-Félicité-Julie Paillet who married Antoine Sauzay (1743–1824). One of their sons was the violinist Charles Eugène Sauzay.JoLynn Edwards: ''Alexandre-Joseph Paillet – Expert et marchand de tableaux à la fin du XVIIIe siècle,'' Arthena – Association pour la diffusion de l'Histoire de l'Art. 8, rue François Miron, Paris, 1996, p. 29

Legacy

The core of the collection of

Dutch masters Dutch Golden Age painting is the painting of the Dutch Golden Age, a period in Dutch history roughly spanning the 17th century, during and after the later part of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) for Dutch independence. The new Dutch Republ ...

in the Louvre essentially goes back to the collecting activities of Charles Claude Flahaut de La Billarderie, Comte d'Angiviller, on behalf of The Crown, as well as the professional advice of Alexandre Joseph Paillet.JoLynn Edwards: ''Alexandre-Joseph Paillet – Expert et marchand de tableaux à la fin du XVIIIe siècle,'' Arthena – Association pour la diffusion de l'Histoire de l'Art. 8, rue François Miron, Paris, 1996, p. 30

Gallery

Alexandre Joseph Paillet is associated with the following paintings, amongst others: File:Adriaen van Ostade 038.jpg, Adriaen van Ostade: ''

The Fish Market ''The Fish Market'' is a 1659 oil on canvas painting by Adriaen van Ostade. It has been described as a post-Rembrandt Rembrandt Harmenszoon van Rijn (, ; 15 July 1606 – 4 October 1669), usually simply known as Rembrandt, was a Dutch ...

'' File:Rembrandt, autoritratto col tocco su sfondo architettonico, 1639 02.jpg, Rembrandt van Rijn: '' Self-Portrait with an Architectural Background'' File:Rembrandt - The Philosopher in Meditation.jpg, Rembrandt van Rijn: '' Philosopher in Meditation'' File:Rembrandt The Supper at Emmaus.jpg, Rembrandt van Rijn: '' Supper at Emmaus'' File:Jacob Isaaksz. van Ruisdael 003.jpg, Jacob van Ruisdael: '' Le Coup de soleil'' File:The Geographer.jpg, Johannes Vermeer: '' The Geographer'' File:Johannes Vermeer - The Astronomer - 1668.jpg, Johannes Vermeer: '' The Astronomer'' File:Jean-Antoine Watteau - Le donneur de sérénades (Mezetin) - Google Art Project.jpg, Antoine Watteau: '' The Chord''