BELLIARD, Z‚pherin Belliard, Jean Felix Marius Zephirin Sudr‚, Jean Pierre Bazin, Charles Dames de la Cour des 12e. 13e. 14e. 15e. 16e. et 17e. SiŠcles [And:] Seigneurs de la Cour des XIVe. XVe. et XVIe. SiŠcles 1840
An Extremely Scarce Series of Thirty-Six Exquisitely Hand-Colored Lithographed PlatesDepicting Ladies and Lords of the French CourtBELLIARD, [Z‚pherin], [Jean Pierre] Sudr‚, and [Charles] Bazin. Dames de la Cour des 12e. 13e. 14e. 15e. 16e. et 17e. SiŠcles. Lithographi‚es par Mrs. Belliard, Sudre et Bazin. Paris: Delpech Editeur, [n.d., ca. 1840].[Bound together with (as the second work):]BELLIARD, [Z‚pherin]. Seigneurs de la Cour des XIVe. XVe. et XVIe. SiŠcles. Lithographi‚s par Mr. Belliard. Paris: Delpech Editeur, [n.d., ca. 1840].Two works in one large folio (17 1/4 x 11 3/8 inches; 438 x 290 mm.). Each work with lithographed title. Together thirty-six exquisitely hand-colored lithographed plates (thirty-one in Dames de la Cour and five in Seigneurs de la Cour), heightened with gum arabic. All plates mounted on heavy stock, the mounts ruled in ink and captioned in pencil.The plates in Dames de la Cour are captioned as follows: R. de Charles VIII; R. de Charles VII; R. de Charles V; R. de Francois Ier; XIIIŠme SiŠcle; R. de Louis XIV; Dame de la Cour du R‚gent; Jeanne D Aroigon; R. de Henri IV; R. de Francois Ier; R. de Charles VII; R. de Louis XVI; R. de Charles VI; R. de Louis XII; R. de Henri II; R. de Louis XVI; R. de Henri IV; R. de Charles VII; Cl‚mence Isaure; R. de St Louis; R. de St Louis; R. de Louis XV; R. de Louis XIV; R. de Louis XIII; R. de Louis XIII; RŠgne de Charles IX; R. de Francois Ier; R. de Fran‡ois Ier; Anne de Boulen; R. de Louis XII; and R. de Louis XII. The plates in Seigneurs de la Cour are captioned as follows: RŠgne de Charles VII; RŠgne de Louis XII; R. de Francois Ier; R. de Henri II; and R. de Henri IV. Each work contains one 'Falconry' plate.Modern quarter black morocco over the original cream-colored floral-patterned paper over boards. Smooth spine decoratively ruled in gilt with paper label lettered in gilt. Board edges and corner rubbed. Small dampstain in the lower gutter of Dames de la Cour. Some occasional foxing and slight edge browning to mounts. Previous owner s ink presentation inscription, dated January 1840, at head of title of Seigneurs de la Cour. Small bookseller s ticket on front pastedown. An excellent copy of this extremely scarce series of plates. We have been able to locate one copy (at the British Library) of an 1845 edition of Dames de la Cour, with forty-four plates, including additional plates by Julien Vallou de Villeneuve.Z‚pherin Belliard (1798-1843) was active between 1820 and 1830. He was one of the fine early masters in this field. Belliard created at least fifty contemporary portraits of distinguished Europeans. Belliard s lithographic art in portraiture, in fact, gained him full membership to the Restoration Salon in 1824. Officially, the Salon listed the portrait lithograph as being of the highest classification. Of the early lithographic printers and publishers, the names of Delpech and Charles Motte stand foremost. Delpech s Paris establishment was both a lithographic studio and a print selling gallery. During the 1820 s, it became a major centre for both artists and patrons much like Rudolph Ackerman s London studio was at the same time. Lithographs bearing Delpech s mark were a constant in the initial Salon exhibitions. Lithography was not invented in France, but it was the French who first recognized the vast potential of this new medium as a fine art form. Led by such masters as Delacroix, Gericault, Boilly, Vernet and Charlet, a host of great artists were bringing the lithograph to the forefront between 1810 and 1835. Such was the high regard in France for this new form of art that the Restoration Salons began holding annual exhibitions in lithography as early as 1817 (http://www.artoftheprint.com/artistpages/belliard_zepherine_felix_jean_hortense.htm). After preliminary training under the academic painter and art patron Alexandre Lenoir, [Honor‚] Daumier became an apprentice to the lithographer and publisher Z‚pherin Belliard (Beatrice Farwell, The Charged Image, p. 55).
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