A new work by Jean-Marie Delaperche joins the museum's collections

The history of art is often made up of exciting rediscoveries... In 2017, the Musée des Beaux-Arts d'Orléans put the spotlight back on an artist who had long been forgotten by history, remaining off the radar of posterity despite his prominent position: Jean-Marie Delaperche (1771-1843), born in Orléans, who spent a large part of his career in Russia. Despite his acknowledged talent as a painter and draughtsman, his work remained largely unknown until a fund-raising campaign led to the acquisition of 93 drawings, then identified as the only ones known in his hand.

Since then, very few works by Delaperche have resurfaced. That's why the museum is particularly delighted to have been able to identify and pre-empt a large, previously unpublished sheet, presented at public auction in Vichy. Thanks to the invaluable support of the Société des Amis des Musées d'Orléansthis drawing is now part of the Musée d'Orléans collection.

This remarkable work bears witness to Delaperche's political commitment as a fervent royalist and anti-Bonapartist. From Moscow, he closely observed current events in France and, in 1815, celebrated with irony and relief the fall of the man he nicknamed "the Corsican ogre", marking the return of the Bourbons to the French throne. A page of history captured with a brush, revealing both the critical eye and graphic talent of this singular artist.