Rating and value of paintings by Michel Martin Drölling (son)

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Rating and value of the artist Michel Martin Drölling           

The artist Michel Martin Drölling leaves behind a unique oeuvre, he is famous for his oils on canvas, being for the totality portraits and landscapes. Now, prices for his works are rising at the auctioneers' gavel.

His paintings and drawings are particularly prized, especially by French buyers. The price at which they sell on the art market ranges from €120 to €220,000, a substantial gap but one that says a lot about the value that can be attributed to Michel Martin Drölling's works.

In 2016, his oil on canvas Official portrait of Emperor Napoleon I, in grand coronation costume (1808), sold for €190,000, whereas it was estimated at €80,000 to €100,000, more than 200% the price of the low estimate, suggesting strong upside potential for the artist's works.

Order of value ranging from a simple work to the most prestigious

Style and technique by artist Michel Martin Drölling               

Michel Martin Drölling (1786 - 1851) was a French neoclassical painter trained in the tradition of David.

He is fully in line with the neoclassical movement, which was dominant during the first half of the 19th century in France.

The themes he explores are both historical and allegorical : his works explore ancient history, biblical subjects, or moralizing figures, in a style inspired by the great classical models.

His works exude narrative clarity, since the scenes are legible, ordered, with a desire to edify the viewer (which is fairly typical of post-revolutionary history painting).

His pictorial technique is characterized by highly mastered drawing. He inherits directly from the sensibility of his father, Martin Drölling, known for having created canvases with the hearts of the Kings of France reduced to powder.

He also inherits the teachings of David, and clean contours and pure lines, as well as the rigorous construction of bodies. He works with sculptural modelling, the figures are treated with a concern for volume, as in ancient sculpture, with light smoothing the forms.

His palette is sober, he uses restrained, harmonious colors, which are dominated by muted ochres, browns, pearl grays and reds, thus placing himself at the opposite end of the spectrum from Romantic exuberance.

His preparation is very meticulous, he makes numerous preparatory drawings, attaching great importance to the structure and arrangement of figures in space.

The finish of his canvases is smooth, he applies his paint in thin, even layers, with no visible impasto, in order to preserve a polished surface in the academic tradition.

In the composition, the symbolic and idealized gestures, we find a not inconsiderable Raphaelian influence.

Thanks to his respect for academic standards, the artist was awarded the Prix de Rome in 1810, which opened the doors to the Villa Medici and confirmed his attachment to the classical ideal and the tradition of the great Italian masters.

He became a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in 1837, and taught at the École des Beaux-Arts, where he perpetuated and passed on neoclassical codes to younger artists.

The life of Michel Martin Drölling

Michel Martin Drölling (1786 - 1851) was born in Paris. Son of Martin Drölling (1752 - 1817), he followed in the footsteps of his father, then renowned for his interior scenes and still lifes. He initially trained with him, acquiring a rigorous approach to drawing and a certain taste for finish.

He then became a pupil of Jacques-Louis David, one of the central figures of neoclassicism, who was to have a lasting influence on his style and artistic direction.

His recognition began in 1810 with the Prix de Rome for La Colère d'Achille, which enabled him to spend several years at the Villa Medici in Rome, perfecting his artistic technique. Here he perfected his artistic technique.

His Italian period was decisive : he studied Raphael, the Antiques and the Renaissance masters, which confirmed his neoclassical orientation for the rest of his career.

Returning to Paris, he made a name for himself with the French public during the Salons of 1810 to 1820, notably with religious paintings and public commissions.

He also enjoyed great academic recognition, being appointed Professor at the École des Beaux-Arts de Paris, where he trained several generations of artists. In 1837, he was elected a member of the Académie des Beaux-Arts, in the chair occupied by Ingres before him.

Under the July monarchy, he became official painter to the French state, and received several commissions for churches and state buildings (such as the ceiling of the Conseil d'État hall).

Works that have gone down in history include The Death of Cato of Utica (Salon of 1817), Justice and Divine Vengeance Pursuing Crime (Salon of 1827 - Musée du Louvre), as well as several wall decorations for royal palaces, churches and public institutions.

He died in Paris in 1851, and his style, judged for the period to be too academic, fell into oblivion for a time with the success of Romanticism and Realism.

Today, he is being rediscovered as a rigorous and refined exponent of late neoclassicism, following in the footsteps of artists such as Sophie Allart or Adélaïde Labille Guiard.

Focus on Portrait d'un jeune garçon en buste, circa 1802-1803

Portrait sold by Auctie's on November 7, 2024 at Drouot, in a sale of classical art, ADJUDGED €42,000, whereas it was estimated at between €6,000 and €8,000, more than 500% the price of the high estimate, which augurs fine results for the artist's works in the future.

Oil on canvas (original canvas) 44 x 36 cm.

Signed lower left: Drölling fils

Presented in a gilded wood frame from the Consulate period

Provenance:

- Private collection, France, by descent

Our painting offers a striking counterpart to Drölling's portrait of the young Charles Legrand, painted at the same time, and equally imbued with that characteristic delicacy of the painter's early years.

As an adolescent, a diligent pupil in his father's studio, Michel Martin Drölling already managed to capture the freshness and mingled gravity of youth. The boy depicted here, in bust form, his eyes slightly turned towards the viewer, wears a dark jacket that emphasizes the matte pallor of his face, framed by brown curls.

The discreet elegance of the rendering, the attention paid to the modelling of the face and the treatment of the gaze bear witness to a nascent, but already assertive, style that would be found in his later works.

 The tight format, neutral background and soft light leave plenty of room for the model's inner expression, reinforcing the emotion that emanates from the portrait.

Unpublished until now, this painting is a valuable addition to the still restricted corpus of Drölling's early works, and illustrates the precocious sensibility of an artist destined to become one of the most refined portraitists of the early 19th century.

Recognizing the artist's signature

Not all the painter's works are signed. However, with or without a mention, it's important for you to have the work appraised to ensure its originality and to be able to date it. What's more, copies naturally exist. His signature is hardly visible when he signs his paintings, given that he usually uses a color close to that of the background.

Knowing the value of a work

If you happen to own a work by or after Michel Martin Drölling, don't hesitate to request a free valuation using our form on our website.

A member of our team of experts and certified auctioneers will contact you promptly to provide you with an estimate of the market value of your work, as well as ad hoc information about it.

If you wish to sell your work, you will also be accompanied by our specialists in order to benefit from alternatives for selling it at the best possible price, taking into account market inclinations.