Jean-Jacques Lequeu: Builder of Fantasies

What link is there between The Origin of the World by Gustave Courbet and the “Palais Idéal” of the Facteur Cheval? According to Annie Le Brun, “there is Jean-Jacques Lequeu, who, without being aware of it, senses that the origin of the architectural dream has something to do with this origin of the world”.

The son of a carpenter from Rouen, Lequeu (1757-1826), who trained in the Age of Enlightenment, saw his destiny turned upside down by the Revolution. Forced into a job as a designer for the administration, he nevertheless believed in his talent and uncompromisingly pursued his ambition as an artist.

A “paper architect”, Lequeu dreamed of sumptuous monuments, fictitious factories and imaginary landscapes; beyond architecture, his gallery was enriched with multiple drawings, a disturbing series of self-portraits, grimacing portraits, erotic paintings and uncompromising anatomical details. Six months before disappearing into destitution and oblivion, he bequeathed this fascinating graphic work to the Royal Library.

In this work, Lequeu is presented for the first time in his singularity and in his era, with all his richness and complexity finally restored for a wide audience.

Work co-published with the BnF.

Exhibition at the Petit Palais, Museum of Fine Arts of the city of Paris, from December 11 to March 31, 2019.

Size: 22 x 28 cm

Number of pages: 192

Illustrations: 180

Hardcover

Sale price: €39

Text in French only

Sous la direction de Laurent Baridon, professeur à l’université de Lyon II, Jean-Philippe Garric, professeur à l’université Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne, Martial Guédron, professeur à l’université de Strasbourg. Textes de Elisa Boeri, historienne de l’art, Corinne Le Bitouzé, conservateur général, adjointe au directeur du département des estampes et de la photographie de la BnF, Christophe Leribault, directeur du Petit Palais, Annie Le Brun, écrivain et Valérie Nègre, historienne de l’art et de l’architecture.