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Lot Essay
The present watch is listed on Louis Cottier's hand-written invoice of 18 January 1962. He dates it from 1815 and attributes the enamel after Fragonard. The servicing of the movement required 28 hours, totalling up to Swiss Francs 280.
Although not signed, the sumptous case and the finely painted enamel scene pay tribute to Geneva's most talented case makers and enamellists of the period. The enamel miniature is in the style of the Rococo painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard.
Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806)
As charming and witty as his paintings, Jean-Honoré Fragonard was one of the most prolific artists of his time, producing more than 550 works during his career.
Apprentice to Chardin and Boucher, two of the leading Rococo artists, he won the Prix de Rome and attended the French Academy. Fragonard's work came with a high pedigree and prestige and as one of the last artists of the Rococo, his name is almost synonymous with this frivolous, erotic, and decadent movement.
Reputedly one of the most creative painters of the 18th century, if not of all time, Fragonard had a feverish output of varied subject matter. From portraits to scenes of pastoral, erotic, or domestic appeal he covered a wide range of themes.
Fragonard's work is easily recognizable due to the lightness and frivolity of the subject matter, the deft touch of the brushwork, and the soft, carefree lighting schemes.
A similarly decorated quarter repeating watch, attributed to Piguet & Meylan, is prominently described and illustrated in Montres et Emaux de Genève - Louis XIV, Louis XV, Louis XVI et Empire, Collection H. Wilsdorf, text by Alfred Chapuis, pp. 177 - 179, pl. 35.
Although not signed, the sumptous case and the finely painted enamel scene pay tribute to Geneva's most talented case makers and enamellists of the period. The enamel miniature is in the style of the Rococo painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard.
Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806)
As charming and witty as his paintings, Jean-Honoré Fragonard was one of the most prolific artists of his time, producing more than 550 works during his career.
Apprentice to Chardin and Boucher, two of the leading Rococo artists, he won the Prix de Rome and attended the French Academy. Fragonard's work came with a high pedigree and prestige and as one of the last artists of the Rococo, his name is almost synonymous with this frivolous, erotic, and decadent movement.
Reputedly one of the most creative painters of the 18th century, if not of all time, Fragonard had a feverish output of varied subject matter. From portraits to scenes of pastoral, erotic, or domestic appeal he covered a wide range of themes.
Fragonard's work is easily recognizable due to the lightness and frivolity of the subject matter, the deft touch of the brushwork, and the soft, carefree lighting schemes.
A similarly decorated quarter repeating watch, attributed to Piguet & Meylan, is prominently described and illustrated in Montres et Emaux de Genève - Louis XIV, Louis XV, Louis XVI et Empire, Collection H. Wilsdorf, text by Alfred Chapuis, pp. 177 - 179, pl. 35.