Louis-Hippolyte Lebas in the Drawing Matter Collections. Photo: Jesper Authen.
French architect Louis-Hippolyte Lebas (1782–1867) trained with Percier and Fontaine, whose assistant he remained for some years; working in Paris, both independently and in collaboration with Éloi Labarre and others from the mid 1820s; professor of history of architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts from 1840; and leader of an atelier in which Charles Garnier and others were trained. His travels around Italy, likely in 1800, 1804, and 1815, led to the publication of a major work on Renaissance architecture.
To view the complete Drawing Matter Collections of Louis-Hippolyte Lebas, click here.
ITALIAN SKETCHBOOKS, c.1804–1812
Four annotated sketchbooks, principally of travel and study sketches recording his observations of monuments and ornament in Rome and southern Italy, from the antique through the 18th century, including copies from print sources and occasional sheets of field notes. Some French monuments also appear, including the Château d’Écouen, and there are numerous landscape and botanical sketches and specimens. Not all subjects are identified. Comprising some 250 sheets in all, mostly in pencil with some watercolour wash.
Louis-Hippolyte Lebas (1782–1867), ground plan, 1804. Pencil on paper, 198 × 157 mm. DMC 1052.1.9.Louis-Hippolyte Lebas (1782–1867), perspective view of gallery, Galerie d’Apollon, Paris, France, 1804. Pencil on paper, 205 × 160 mm. DMC 1052.2.24.Louis-Hippolyte Lebas (1782–1867), ground plans after Inigo Jones Whitehall Palace, London, UK. Pencil and watercolour on paper, 114 × 177 mm. DMC 1052.3.78.Louis-Hippolyte Lebas (1782–1867), Rosette ornament from Château d’Écouen, Écouen, France, 1804. Pencil on paper with pressed leaf, 148 × 105 mm. DMC 1052.4.14.
MISCELLANEOUS STUDIES, c.1800–1830
127 loose sheets of elevations, plans and other studies, principally of Italian subjects perhaps in preparation for his publication of Renaissance architecture, notably including measured studies of Palais de Florence [Palazzo Firenze] in Rome. In addition there are records of a small number of French Gothic sites in relation to preservation and restoration.
Louis-Hippolyte Lebas (1782–1867), Plan du rez de chaussée [Floor plan of the ground floor], Palazzo Firenze, Rome, Italy, c.1811. Pen, ink and pink wash on thin laid paper, 393 × 235 mm. DMC 1399.1.23.
Louis-Hippolyte Lebas (1782–1867), Entablement Ionique sur la Cour. Chapiteau et base [Ionic Entablature on the Courtyard. Capital and base], Palazzo Firenze, Rome, Italy, c.1811. Pencil and ink on wove paper, 178 × 117 mm. DMC 1399.1.20.Louis-Hippolyte Lebas (1782–1867), Plafond de la loge du 1er Etage [Ceiling of the lodge on the 1st Floor], Palazzo Firenze, Rome, Italy, c.1811. Pencil on watermarked laid paper, 257 × 207 mm. DMC 1399.1.17.
PREPARATIONS FOR PUBLISHED PLATES: ROMAN PALAZZI AND CHURCHES, c.1800–1820
Eight sheets of finished line drawings, with scales, notably including the Palazzo Farnese.
Louis-Hippolyte Lebas (1782–1867), perspective section and elevation, Palazzo Farnese, Rome, Italy, c.1800. Engraving, 360 × 235 mm. DMC 1625.Louis-Hippolyte Lebas (1782–1867), elevation, plan and section, The Oratory of Santissimo Crocifisso, Rome, Italy, c.1800. Engraving, 300 × 430 mm. DMC 1627.Louis-Hippolyte Lebas (1782–1867), elevation, Roman church, Italy, c.1800. Engraving, 300 × 430 mm. DMC 1628.
Louis-Hippolyte Lebas (1782–1867), interior perspective of gallery, Roman palazzo or church, Italy, c.1800. Engraving, 430 × 300 mm. DMC 1626.Louis-Hippolyte Lebas (1782–1867), plan, Farnese gardens, Rome, Italy, c.1800. Engraving, 460 × 280 mm. DMC 1629. [1]
PREPARATIONS FOR PUBLISHED PLATES: BOLOGNA AND FALERII, c.1806–1815
Finished section and details of the Palazzo Bevilacqua in Bologna, and survey drawings of an ancient tomb at Falerii.
Louis-Hippolyte Lebas (1782–1867), elevation of palazzo, with section of wings and details of entablature, Bologna, Italy, 1815. Pencil, pen, ink and wash on laid paper, laid on watermarked backing sheet, 300 × 430 mm. DMC 2633.Louis-Hippolyte Lebas (1782–1867), elevation and plan; perspective view, Tombeau Antique à Faleri [Ancient tomb at Falerii], Falerii, Italy, c. 1806–1815. Pencil, pen, ink and wash, on 2 sheets inserted onto backing sheet, 240 × 200 mm. DMC 2634.
Projected Monument to Malesherbes: Rendered elevation and plan
Elevation and plan on one sheet for a platform and canopy within a neoclassical niche. It has variously been associated by scholars with a scheme for the Palais de Justice housing a sculpture by Auguste Dumont (not executed according to this plan), or for a monument in Lebas’ own Notre-Dame-de-Lorette.
Louis-Hippolyte Lebas (1782–1867), elevation of sculpture in niche, and plan, Projected Monument to the Glory of Malesherbes, Paris, France, unknown date. Pen, ink, grey and pink wash on watermarked laid paper, 610 × 465 mm. DMC 2602.
MONUMENS ET FRAGMENS ANTIQUE, c.1807–1824
Album of 250 drawings (including loose sheets and index) assembled by Maximilien-Joseph Hurtault (1765–1824). Primarily surveys and reconstructions of Greek and Roman buildings, both original and copied from other sources. Includes drawings after, among others, Jean-Nicolas Huyot (1780–1840), François Debret (1777–1850), Charles Robert Cockerell (1788–1863) and Louis-Hippolyte Lebas (1782–1867). Similar albums compiled by Hurtault can be found in the Bibliothèque Nationale, France.
Louis-Hippolyte Lebas (1782–1867), elevation, Colonne Millitaire au Capitol [Military Column at the Capitol], Italy, unknown date. Pen and ink on watermarked laid paper, 572 × 206 mm. DMC 3290.94.1.
after Huyot, Debret & Lebas, plan, Théâtre de Marcellus à Rome, avec les trois temples de S. Nicolò in Carcere [Theatre of Marcellus in Rome, with the three temples of S. Nicolò in Carcere], Rome, Italy, date unknown. Pen, black and red ink on wove paper, 315 × 130 mm. DMC 3290.1.Louis-Hippolyte Lebas (1782–1867) and François Debret (1977–1850), elevation, Du tombeau de Plautius et du Sepulcre de Cecilia Metella [From the tomb of Plautius and the sepulcher of Cecilia Metella], Italy, unknown date. Pencil on thin wove paper, 196 × 248 mm. DMC 3290.54.1.
Notes
1. We are grateful to Peter Carl for his additional comment in identifying this drawing.
