Louis De Clercq

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Louis De Clercq

Louis Constantin Henri François Xavier De Clercq (born December 25, 1836 , in Oignies , Pas-de-Calais; † December 27, 1901 , ibid) was a French industrialist, explorer and early photographer of the 19th century.

Life

De Clercq came from a wealthy northern French family and had been interested in archeology since his youth, stimulated by Napoleon's Egyptian expedition . In 1859, after an expedition to Italy, he asked the French state for a mission to the Orient. Together with the archaeologist Emmanuel Guillaume-Rey , he wanted to examine the crusader castles in Syria and dedicate a work to them, De Clercq should take the photographs.

They traveled together through Syria for over 5 months and separated after completing the project in the spring of 1860. De Clercq had taken a liking to travel photography during that time and then continued the trip at his own expense. It took him from Jerusalem to Egypt and finally ended in Spain.

After his return to Paris he published the extensive 6-volume work Voyage en Orient under his own name and in an edition of 50 copies , which contained 222 calotypes that had originally been created for Rey's work.

In a later publication he drew a résumé of this trip and presented himself as an archaeologically interested traveler who had acted on his own account. He even claimed that he had made the discoveries he had made available to Rey for his work on Crusader architecture.

The albums became a success. They showed an unusual travel destination and they did not, as was customary at the time, Egypt or the Holy Land as their subject. The concept of showing the stages of the Crusades in photos was unprecedented. The pictures themselves were formally masterful. The panorama shots were perfectly constructed and showed a keen sense of the landscape that is otherwise only found in the photographs of Greene and Teynard.

He exhibited the entire work in 1861 at the Société française de photographie . In 1862 he showed three photographs at the World Exhibition in London.

From 1871 to 1901, Louis De Clercq was mayor of his hometown Oignies and a member of the French parliament.

The De Clercq collection

Venus from the De Clercq collection. H .: 25 cm. (Les Bronzes, 1905. Cat.No. 127, Plate 28).

By participating in the research trip with Rey and the enthusiasm for the antiquities of the Middle East, De Clercq made the decision to build a collection. Following a pre-determined plan, he decided to only include objects of comparable origin. His collection was to be formed through excavations in the Syrian-Phoenician area. The acquisitions soon included pieces from Mesopotamia and Cyprus.

De Clercq found in Aimé Napoléon-Antoine Péretie, interpreter at the French consulate in Beirut (and later the French consul in Beirut), a friend and loyal correspondent who was also enthusiastic about antiquity. He was also in contact with the region's antique dealers who carried out excavations on his behalf. Alphonse Durighello, French Vice Consul in Sidon, his son Edmond and the antique dealer Joseph Angelo became the main suppliers of his collection with Péretie. He stayed in Beirut during 1862, 1863 and then again in 1893.

The impressive size of the De Clercq Collection is well documented thanks to the seven volumes published between 1885 and 1911. They are the work of Louis De Clercq and Joachim Menant for the antiquities of the ancient Orient and André de Ridder for the volumes published from 1905 onwards.

Louis De Clercq wanted to transfer the collection to the French state. His wish was realized in 1967 by his great-nephew and heir, Count Henri de Boisgelin. By resolution of April 24, 1968, 653 works were incorporated into the Louvre's holdings . The department for Greek, Etruscan and Roman antiquities received 247 objects made of marble, terracotta and glass, jewelry, and a large number of Greek and Roman bronzes. Many pieces also came to the Cabinet des Médailles . Some of them went on sale and subsequently to other museums and collections around the world.

Publications

  • Voyage en Orient , 1860 (6 volumes)
  • L. De Clercq - J. Menant. Collection De Clercq , I, Antiquités assyriennes (Paris 1888).
  • L. De Clercq. Collection De Clercq , II, Antiquités assyriennes (Paris 1903).

literature

  • H. Derenbourg: Nécrologie de deux Français, membres honoraires de l'Académie de l'Histoire de Madrid (Louis De Clercq et Gaston Paris). In: Revue internationale de l'enseignement 48, 1904, 433ff.
  • A. de Ridder. Collection De Clercq , III, Les bronzes (Paris 1905).
  • A. de Ridder. Collection De Clercq , IV, Les marbres, les vases peints et les ivoires (Paris 1906).
  • A. de Ridder. Collection De Clercq , V, Les antiquités chypriotes (Paris 1908).
  • A. de Ridder. Collection De Clercq , VI, Les terre cuites et les verres (Paris 1909).
  • A. de Ridder. Collection De Clercq , VII, Les bijoux et les pierres gravées (Paris 1911).
  • Michel Frizot (Ed.): New History of Photography , Könemann Verlagsgesellschaft, Cologne 1998, ISBN 3-8290-1327-2 .

Web links

Individual evidence

  1. ↑ Alphonse Durighello
  2. ↑ http://cartelfr.louvre.fr/pub/fr/pdf/12211_collClercq.pdf
  3. ↑ http://www.persee.fr/doc/numi_0484-8942_1967_num_6_9_941
personal data
SURNAME Clercq, Louis De
ALTERNATIVE NAMES Clerq, Louis Constantin Henri François Xavier De (full name)
BRIEF DESCRIPTION French industrialist, explorer, photographer and member of parliament
DATE OF BIRTH December 25, 1836
PLACE OF BIRTH Oignies , Pas-de-Calais
DATE OF DEATH December 27, 1901
Place of death Oignies , Pas-de-Calais