Interior Stables of Maecenas at Tivoli (Workshop of Jean-François Legillon)

This fine oil on panel is attributed to the workshop of Jean-François Legillon (Bruges 1739 – Paris 1797) and depicts A Ruined Barn Illuminated by the Sun, Interior of the Stables of Maecenas at Tivoli. Executed on two horizontal wooden boards, the composition presents a warmly lit stable interior animated by figures tending to horses, suffused with a dramatic contrast between shadowed architecture and a sunlit opening above. The subject reflects Legillon’s refined interest in architectural ruins and pastoral genre scenes, combining classical references with everyday rural life in a manner characteristic of late 18th-century French painting. On the reverse, the panel bears an additional painted study of a nun executed in grisaille, offering a rare and evocative glimpse into the artist’s or workshop’s working process.

The composition reprises Legillon’s morceau de réception submitted to the Académie in 1789, a larger version exhibited at the Salon of that year and now housed in the Musée du Louvre (oil on canvas, 52.5 × 69 cm), underscoring the academic importance of the subject. The present panel measures 43 × 53 cm and shows age-appropriate condition, including stable cracks, small dents, and a historical reinforcement on the reverse, along with minor restorations. This work is documented in Catalogue illustré des Peintures. École Française XVIIe et XVIIIe siècle II. M–Z by Pierre Rosenberg, Nicole Reynaud, and Isabelle Compin (RMN, 1974), no. 465 bis, pp. 254–255. Rich in atmosphere and art-historical significance, the panel represents a compelling workshop interpretation of a celebrated academic composition.

Dimensions: 23.5" L x 1" W x 19.5" H