RAVENET, known as “the Younger” (Simon-Jean-François). - Lot 347

RAVENET, known as “the Younger” (Simon-Jean-François). 1737–1818. Engraver in the service of the Duke of Parma, for whom he produced the iconography of Correggio. Autograph letter to Gaboria, “Director of the Imperial Chalcography in Rome.” Parma, September 3, 1813. 3 pp., two-leaf folio. REGARDING HIS WORK ON CORREGGIO; he sends several prints he engraved based on this painter’s works, “of which I had undertaken to compile a collection of everything that existed in Parma by the Great Masters; but which the misfortunes of the Revolution forced me [sic] to abandon due to the death and dispersal of the subscribers. By examining these engravings, you will be able to judge the condition of the plates, which have been printed only a very few times and which, in times more favorable to the fine arts, will surely be sought after due to the fame of Correggio’s name. ” His correspondent and the Chevalier de Thyers will be able to appreciate the merits of his work in the field of chalcography, “how closely I have approximated the coloration of the paintings.” Ravenet then provides historical information on several paintings, including that of St. Jerome, which was taken to the Louvre; “It remained unknown for a long time in the church’s sacristy, where it had been placed by order of Donna Brizeide Bergonzi, who had commissioned it from the artist (…). Once its merit was recognized, it was on the verge of being secretly sold to the Elector of Saxony, King of Poland, for the price of thirty-six thousand sequins; but a fortunate twist of fate uncovered this plot, and the Court acquired it for itself.” He continues with *La Madonna della Scodella*, which Cochin considered on a par with *St. Jerome*, the “famous painting known as *Corrège’s Night*,” and a depiction of the Flight into Egypt. He sent 12 prints that he considered most representative of Correggio’s work to propose them to the chalcography workshop.