76 - French School,

French School, late 18th century- Design for the facade of a temple; pencil, ink, and wash on laid paper which has been variously made up and superimposed in layers, indistinctly signed and dated 'Degans[?] inv. fai...[?] 1795' (lower right) and inscribed 'B. 2e.[?]' (lower left), 27 x 23.5 cm. Provenance: with Clarendon Gallery Ltd. London. Private Collection, UK. Note: The inscription visible in the entablature of this facade's portico reads 'À l'Être Suprême', one of the mottos of the Cult of the Supreme Being, the religion founded during the French Revolution by Maximilien Robespierre (1758-1794) in 1794. It substituted its rival, the Cult of Reason, the atheistic religion sponsored by the state which survived for under a year in 1793. The allegorical figures to the sides, bearing the inscriptions 'Raison' and 'Vérité', are more coherent in fact with this atheistic state cult, which was devoted to truth and reason, than with Robespierre's religion. In 1795, the date of the present work and first year of the Directoire, both religions were technically defunct. This, and the combination of symbols and inscriptions of both cults in a single work, make of the present lot a bizarre, unique, and fascinating object, charged with historical meaning. It is possible that the artist's intention was to represent some kind of religious and philosophical conciliation or reunion.