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Lot Essay
These eight sketches come from a dismembered sketchbook. Two sheets show the Château d'Orrouy near Augerville-la-Rivière (Oise, France) where Delacroix's cousin, the lawyer Pierre-Antoine Berryer, had a home which the artist visited on several occasions. It was surrounded by a large garden through which flowed the river l'Essonne. One of the views of the house can be related to Delacroix's diary entry of Sunday 21 May 1854 'Le matin ma première promenade [...] En revenant, fait un croquis de l'angle et du côté de la cour', and the other to an entry from Thursday 25 May 1854: 'Ce jour, sorti d'assez bonne heure et fait le petit croquis de la vue du château du côté du canal et du potager' (E. Delacroix, Journal 1822-1863, Paris, 1996, pp. 423-4). His note 'Vu les rochers et les pins d'Italie' (op. cit., p. 425) may refer to the sketches Rocky landscapes and Landscapes with trees included in the present lot. Another view by Delacroix of the Château d'Orrouy, this time dated 18 October 1856, is in the Louvre (Sérullaz, op. cit., no. 1137).
The drawing dated Tuesday 23 March 1847 was made when Delacroix was at Champrosay (Ile-de-France) for a few days between 21-27 March (op. cit., p. 145).
The drawing dated Tuesday 23 March 1847 was made when Delacroix was at Champrosay (Ile-de-France) for a few days between 21-27 March (op. cit., p. 145).