{"id":9342,"date":"2020-11-07T00:00:38","date_gmt":"2020-11-06T23:00:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/vichy-encheres.com\/?p=9342"},"modified":"2023-11-07T10:39:49","modified_gmt":"2023-11-07T09:39:49","slug":"vielle-a-roue-jean-ouvrard","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vichy-encheres.com\/en\/2020\/11\/07\/vielle-a-roue-jean-ouvrard\/","title":{"rendered":"Une spectaculaire vielle d\u2019Ouvrard pr\u00e9empt\u00e9e par le Mus\u00e9e de la musique de la Philharmonie de Paris"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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Le samedi 7 novembre 2020, Vichy Ench\u00e8res pr\u00e9sentait \u00e0 la vente une exceptionnelle vielle \u00e0 roue d\u2019Ouvrard. V\u00e9ritable chef-d\u2019oeuvre du luthier, l\u2019instrument a \u00e9t\u00e9 pr\u00e9empt\u00e9 pour 19.468 euros (frais compris) par le Mus\u00e9e de la musique de la Philharmonie de Paris. <\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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Une pi\u00e8ce de collection <\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Cette nouvelle acquisition ne saurait que r\u00e9jouir les d\u00e9fenseurs du patrimoine et les amoureux des instruments de musique. Elle parach\u00e8ve \u00e9galement, tout en beaut\u00e9, l\u2019histoire de cette remarquable vielle. Longtemps tenue cach\u00e9e et fra\u00eechement red\u00e9couverte au sein de Vichy Ench\u00e8res, elle sera d\u00e9sormais pr\u00e9sent\u00e9e \u00e0 tous et prot\u00e9g\u00e9e des outrages du temps. Le mus\u00e9e, dont la recherche est l\u2019une des principales missions, nous en apprendra peut-\u00eatre davantage sur cette pi\u00e8ce unique dans la production d\u2019un luthier aussi myst\u00e9rieux que talentueux…<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Le myst\u00e8re Ouvrard<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Qui s\u2019int\u00e9resse \u00e0 la lutherie parisienne du XVIII\u00e8me<\/sup> si\u00e8cle sait qu\u2019il est courant de r\u00e9partir en trois groupes un grand nombre des luthiers de l\u2019\u00e9poque (1)<\/sup>. On parle ainsi des groupes de Bocquay, de Guersan et de Salomon. Ces groupes \u00e9taient largement ciment\u00e9s par des alliances familiales et c\u2019est \u00e0 celui de Salomon qu\u2019on associe habituellement Jean Ouvrard. Contemporain de Salomon, il fut en r\u00e9alit\u00e9 le premier mari de la seconde \u00e9pouse de celui-ci. Sur Jean Ouvrard, peu de documents nous sont parvenus. On sait pourtant qu\u2019il mena une existence ais\u00e9e et que son atelier vit passer d\u2019autres figures de la lutherie parisienne, telles que Fran\u00e7ois Feury, dont il fut le ma\u00eetre.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Il dispara\u00eet \u201cdiscr\u00e8tement\u201d le 4 janvier 1748. Quand est-il n\u00e9 ? Les archives ne le disent pas.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Personnalit\u00e9 originale ? Sans doute, puisque ce fils de charpentier d\u2019un village du bas Poitou, mont\u00e9 \u00e0 Paris et \u00e9tabli comme luthier d\u00e8s 1720, fut \u00e9galement valet de chambre chez le marquis de Savoni\u00e8re – o\u00f9 il semble fort appr\u00e9ci\u00e9 – puis Ma\u00eetre jur\u00e9 comptable de 1742 \u00e0 1743. C’est en 1735 qu\u2019on trouve r\u00e9ellement mention de son activit\u00e9 de marchand luthier, \u201cPlace de l\u2019Ecole, paroisse St-Germain l\u2019Auxerrois\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Participant au myst\u00e8re, ses instruments nous sont peu connus. On compte des dessus de viole, trois quintons orn\u00e9s d\u2019une t\u00eate de femme, dont l\u2019un dat\u00e9 de 1744, conserv\u00e9 au mus\u00e9e de B\u00e2le, et deux autres, de 1745, aux mus\u00e9es de Bruxelles et de New York. Enfin, un certain nombre de violons et d\u2019altos plus classiques sont en circulation. Qu’en est-il de ses vielles ?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

1 – Sylvette Milliot, Documents in\u00e9dits sur les luthiers parisiens du XVIIIe si\u00e8cle, Paris, Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 fran\u00e7aise de musicologie, 1970<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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La raret\u00e9 de ses vielles<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Les vielles marqu\u00e9es \u201cOUVRARD\u201d sont assez rares. Quelques-unes, de belle facture mais essentiellement de mod\u00e8les classiques, se retrouvent parfois lors de ventes aux ench\u00e8res ou chez les antiquaires. Or, Ouvrard \u00e9tait dou\u00e9 d\u2019un r\u00e9el savoir-faire et capable de concevoir des oeuvres extraordinaires, en atteste un mod\u00e8le \u00e0 t\u00eate sculpt\u00e9e de femme estampill\u00e9 \u201cOUVRARD\u201d, conserv\u00e9 au mus\u00e9e des instruments de l\u2019Universit\u00e9 d\u2019\u00c9dimbourg<\/a>. Son raffinement en fait quasiment un unicum puisque mis \u00e0 part cet exemplaire, il est difficile de trouver un instrument de cet auteur de qualit\u00e9 comparable. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Ses vielles \u00e9tant rares sur le march\u00e9, celles d\u2019exception le sont davantage. Autant d\u2019arguments qui expliquent aujourd\u2019hui l\u2019effervescence autour de l\u2019apparition d\u2019une admirable vielle \u00e0 roue marqu\u00e9e \u201cOUVRARD\u201d, inconnue jusqu\u2019\u00e0 ce jour, rivalisant avec celle du mus\u00e9e de l\u2019Universit\u00e9 d\u2019\u00c9dimbourg. Plus que marqu\u00e9e, elle est \u00e9galement sign\u00e9e \u201cOuvrard \u00e0 Paris\u201d et dat\u00e9e probablement de \u201c1747\u201d. Expertis\u00e9e par Philippe Kr\u00fcmm<\/a>, c\u2019est \u00e0 Vichy Ench\u00e8res que sa d\u00e9couverte a eu lieu. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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L\u2019instrument incontournable de la noblesse au XVIII\u00e8me<\/sup> si\u00e8cle<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Comme nous le rappelle Philippe Kr\u00fcmm<\/a>, expert en instruments de musique populaire, la vielle \u00e0 roue fait fureur au XVIII\u00e8me<\/sup> si\u00e8cle. Sous le r\u00e8gne de Louis XV, l\u2019instrument conna\u00eet un essor alors qu\u2019il \u00e9tait jusque-l\u00e0 pratiqu\u00e9 principalement par les villageois. Ce changement de statut r\u00e9sulte, d\u2019une part, de la volont\u00e9 des aristocrates d\u2019imiter les pratiques sociales de la famille royale et notamment de la reine. Or, selon le duc de Luynes et bien d\u2019autres t\u00e9moignages, Marie Leszczynska jouait r\u00e9guli\u00e8rement de la vielle apr\u00e8s le souper (1)<\/sup>. Par cons\u00e9quent, il n\u2019est pas \u00e9tonnant que l\u2019instrument soit majoritairement jou\u00e9 pour des femmes. Mais plus qu\u2019un instrument de musique, l\u2019objet devint un v\u00e9ritable faire-valoir et un grand nombre de dames de Cour se font portraiturer avec<\/a>.    <\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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D\u2019autre part et parall\u00e8lement \u00e0 ce ph\u00e9nom\u00e8ne, des virtuoses d\u00e9montrent les qualit\u00e9s techniques de l\u2019instrument. Ils en transforment le jeu et l\u2019interpr\u00e9tation. On compose des oeuvres pour la vielle. Ces virtuoses, tels que Ch\u00e9deville ou Dangui, acqui\u00e8rent une consid\u00e9rable renomm\u00e9e et assurent ainsi la diffusion du go\u00fbt pour l\u2019instrument. Selon d\u2019Aquin, “la vielle sera \u00e0 la mode tant qu’elle pourra se flatter d’avoir des Dangui : elle est admirable sous ses doigts”(2)<\/sup>. D\u00e8s lors, ce nouveau go\u00fbt s\u2019est accompagn\u00e9 d\u2019un accroissement des commandes aupr\u00e8s des luthiers sp\u00e9cialis\u00e9s dans le domaine, parmi lesquels Georges Louvet, Jean-Nicolas Lambert, ou encore Fran\u00e7ois Feury. La vielle d\u2019Ouvrard de 1747 confirme la ferveur de l\u2019\u00e9poque.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

1 – DUFOURCQ, Norbert, La musique \u00e0 la cour de Louis XIV et de Louis XV d’apr\u00e8s les m\u00e9moires de Sourches et de Luynes (1681-1758), Paris, Picard, 1970, p.98.<\/em>
2 – Cit\u00e9 par MAILLARD, 1996, op. cit., p.20. Source : article en ligne<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Des secrets de fabrication<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Les vielles produites par Ouvrard, puis celles de ses successeurs, ouvrent tout un champ d\u2019interrogations. La question la plus souvent pos\u00e9e concerne les relations entre luthiers. Le nombre de demandes allant croissant, les luthiers coop\u00e9raient-ils pour en assurer la fabrication ? Avaient-ils des relations commerciales ? S\u2019\u00e9changeaient-ils des pi\u00e8ces, telles que des caisses ou des t\u00eates sculpt\u00e9es ? Le cas d\u2019Ouvrard invite \u00e0 la r\u00e9flexion. En effet, les deux vielles spectaculaires que sont celle d\u2019\u00c9dimbourg et celle de Vichy Ench\u00e8res ont \u00e9t\u00e9 r\u00e9alis\u00e9es \u00e0 partir d\u2019\u00e9l\u00e9ments d\u2019instruments quelque peu d\u00e9laiss\u00e9s \u00e0 cette \u00e9poque.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Ainsi, le corps de celle d\u2019\u00c9dimbourg provient probablement d’une guitare r\u00e9alis\u00e9e par un membre de la famille Voboam, qui \u00e0 mesure que les styles de guitare changeaient n’\u00e9tait plus utilis\u00e9e. Concernant la vielle de Vichy Ench\u00e8res, la caisse provient vraisemblablement d\u2019un luth, instrument progressivement mis de c\u00f4t\u00e9 \u00e0 cette p\u00e9riode. Ces r\u00e9emplois pourraient aussi r\u00e9pondre \u00e0 une volont\u00e9 d\u2019am\u00e9lioration technique de l\u2019instrument. Monter des m\u00e9canismes de vielle sur des corps de guitare ou de luth leur donnerait une meilleure qualit\u00e9 sonore. <\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Une d\u00e9couverte exceptionnelle<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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On l\u2019aura compris, bien que peu de documents nous soient parvenus sur Ouvrard, il s\u2019inscrit comme une figure \u00e0 part enti\u00e8re de la lutherie parisienne du XVIII\u00e8me<\/sup> si\u00e8cle. Parmi ses rares vielles connues, celle de la vente de Vichy Ench\u00e8res se distingue par son raffinement pouss\u00e9 \u00e0 l\u2019extr\u00eame. Inconnue jusque-l\u00e0, elle s\u2019inscrit d\u2019embl\u00e9e comme l\u2019une des plus belles r\u00e9alisations d\u2019Ouvrard. La marque, ainsi que la signature \u00e0 l\u2019int\u00e9rieur – au niveau de la languette au centre de la caisse – r\u00e9v\u00e9l\u00e9e lors d\u2019un examen par endoscopie, ne font que confirmer le caract\u00e8re exceptionnel de cette vielle. La date inscrite, que l\u2019on devine de 1747, co\u00efncide avec la derni\u00e8re ann\u00e9e de la vie du luthier, au moment o\u00f9 il \u00e9tait au sommet de son art.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Sa t\u00eate sculpt\u00e9e d\u2019un splendide visage de Maure couronn\u00e9, en \u00e9b\u00e8ne incrust\u00e9, est d\u2019une finesse inou\u00efe, comparable \u00e0 celle du mus\u00e9e des instruments de l\u2019Universit\u00e9 d’\u00c9dimbourg. Par souci esth\u00e9tique et recherche de perfection, Ouvrard s\u2019est appliqu\u00e9 \u00e0 peaufiner les moindres d\u00e9tails, \u00e0 l\u2019image de la spectaculaire marqueterie en chevrons d\u2019\u00e9b\u00e8ne et d\u2019ivoire qui recouvre la caisse de l\u2019ancien luth. Nul doute que cet instrument fut destin\u00e9 \u00e0 un important commanditaire, \u00e0 l\u2019instar d\u2019une dame de Cour ou d\u2019un illustre musicien…<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Une vielle y\u00e9y\u00e9…<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Bien que peu de choses nous soient connues sur sa provenance, quelques archives nous renseignent sur l\u2019une des figures qui a crois\u00e9 sa route : Annie Chancel, plus connue sous le nom de Sheila !
Et oui, lors d\u2019un voyage en Auvergne, l\u2019incontournable ic\u00f4ne y\u00e9y\u00e9 fut photographi\u00e9e avec le splendide mod\u00e8le d\u2019Ouvrard entre les mains (\u00c2ge Tendre, n\u00b011, novembre 1963<\/em>) ! La raison en reste myst\u00e9rieuse\u2026 Quand nous vous disions que cet instrument \u00e9tait extraordinaire !<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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AN EXCEPTIONAL HURDY-GURDY BY OUVRARD PRE-EMPTED BY THE MUSEE DE LA PHILHARMONIE IN PARIS<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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On Saturday 7 November 2020, Vichy Ench\u00e8res sold at auction an exceptional hurdy-gurdy by Ouvrard. This true masterpiece was pre-empted for 19,468 euros (including fees) by the Musee de la Philharmonie in Paris.\u00a0<\/em><\/em><\/p>\n<\/blockquote>\n\n\n\n

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A museum piece\u00a0<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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This new acquisition will delight those who advocate for the conservation of our national heritage and lovers of musical instruments alike. It also provides a beautiful ending to the story of this remarkable hurdy-gurdy. It had long been kept out of sight and was rediscovered at Vichy Ench\u00e8res; it will now be displayed to all and protected from the ravages of time. The museum which acquired it puts research at the heart of its mission, and so it will perhaps shed more light on this unique piece in the output of a maker as mysterious as he was talented.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The Ouvrard mystery<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Anyone interested in 18th century Parisian lutherie knows that it is customary to divide the large number of makers of the time into three groups(1)<\/sup>. These groups, those of Bocquay, Guersan and Salomon, were in large part determined by family connections. It is with the Salomon group that Jean Ouvrard is usually associated. He was a contemporary of Salomon, and in fact was the first husband of his second wife. Few historical documents relating to Jean Ouvrard remain. However, we know that he led a comfortable existence and that his workshop employed other figures of Parisian violin making, such as Fran\u00e7ois Feury, one of his pupils.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The records don’t provide information about his date of birth. He disappeared \u201cdiscreetly\u201d on 4 January 1748.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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He was an unusual character. This carpenter’s son, from a village in the lower Poitou, moved to Paris and established himself as a maker from 1720, but was also valet de chambre for the Marquis de Savoni\u00e8re \u2013 with whom he seems to have been very popular \u2013 and then a certified accountant to the courts from 1742 to 1743. It is only in 1735 that we find the first official mention of his activity as instrument maker, on \u201cPlace de l’Ecole, paroisse St-Germain l’Auxerrois\u201d.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

What adds to the mystery is that his instruments are little known to us. There are dessus de violes, three quintons decorated with a woman’s head, including one dated 1744, conserved in a museum in Basel, and two others, from 1745, in Brussels and New York museums. Finally, there are also a number of more classical violins and violas by him in circulation. What about his hurdy-gurdies?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

1 – Sylvette Milliot, Documents in\u00e9dits sur les luthiers parisiens du XVIIIe si\u00e8cle, Paris, Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 fran\u00e7aise de musicologie, 1970<\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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The rarity of his hurdy-gurdies<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Hurdy-gurdies stamped \u201cOUVRARD\u201d are quite rare. Beautifully crafted, but essentially traditional, models can appear from time to time at auction or in antique shops. However, Ouvrard was gifted with superior craftsmanship and capable of creating extraordinary works, as evidenced by an example with a carved woman\u2019s head and stamped \u201cOUVRARD\u201d, kept at the Museum of Instruments of the University of Edinburgh<\/a>. . Its degree of refinement makes it almost unique since, apart from this example, it is difficult to find an instrument of this maker equal in quality.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Hurdy-gurdies by this maker are rare on the market, and those of exceptional quality even more so. This explains the excitement around the discovery of this remarkable hurdy-gurdy stamped \u201cOUVRARD\u201d, which was unknown until now, and rivals with that of the museum of the University of Edinburgh. In addition to being stamped, it is also signed \u201cOuvrard \u00e0 Paris\u201d and dated with what appears to read \u201c1747\u201d. It was at Vichy Ench\u00e8res that this discovery was made, when it was appraised by Philippe Kr\u00fcmm<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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The essential instrument of the nobility in the 18th<\/sup> century<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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As Philippe Kr\u00fcmm<\/a>, an expert in folk music instruments, reminds us, the hurdy-gurdy was very popular in the 18th century. While, until then, it had mostly been an instrument played in rural towns, under the reign of Louis XV, the instrument underwent a change in status. This was the result, on the one hand, of the desire of aristocrats to mimic the social practices of the royal family, and in particular of the queen. Indeed, according to the Duc de Luynes and many other testimonies, Marie Leszczynska regularly played the hurdy-gurdy after supper (1)<\/sup>. It is therefore not surprising that the instrument was mainly played by women at the time. More than a musical instrument, it became an object of social standing, as evidenced by the large number of Court ladies who were portrayed with it.<\/a>\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0\u00a0<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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On the other hand, and in parallel with this phenomenon, virtuosos demonstrated the technical potential of the instrument. They transformed the way in which it was played and its repertoire. Works were composed for the hurdy-gurdy. These virtuosos, such as Ch\u00e9deville or Dangui, became very famous and helped promote the taste for the instrument. According to d’Aquin, “the hurdy-gurdy will be fashionable as long as it can flatter itself to be favoured by the likes of Dangui: it is admirable under his fingers”(2)<\/sup>. This new interest for the instrument resulted in an increase in orders from makers specializing in their production, including Georges Louvet, Jean-Nicolas Lambert and Fran\u00e7ois Feury. The hurdy-gurdy by Ouvrard of 1747 confirms the enthusiasm for the instrument at the time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

1 – DUFOURCQ, Norbert, La musique \u00e0 la cour de Louis XIV et de Louis XV d’apr\u00e8s les m\u00e9moires de Sourches et de Luynes (1681-1758), Paris, Picard, 1970, p.98.<\/em>
2 – Cit\u00e9 par MAILLARD, 1996, op. cit., p.20. Source : article en ligne<\/a> <\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

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Manufacturing secrets<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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The hurdy-gurdies made by Ouvrard, and by those of his successors, raise a number of questions. The most frequently asked relates to the relationship between the various makers. As the number of orders increased, did makers collaborate to meet the demand? Did they have business relationships? Did they manufacture parts for each other, such as bodies or carved heads? The case of Ouvrard invites to ponder on these questions. Indeed, the two exceptional hurdy-gurdies, that of Edinburgh and that of Vichy Ench\u00e8res, were made using parts of instruments that, to an extent, had fallen into disuse at that time.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Indeed, the body of the Edinburgh example probably comes from a guitar made by a member of the Voboam family, whose style was no longer in keeping with the changing tastes of the time. Moreover, the body of the Vichy Ench\u00e8res hurdy-gurdy probably comes from a lute, an instrument that was gradually set aside during this period. This upcycling could also be explained by a desire to improve the instrument technically: fitting hurdy-gurdy mechanisms on guitar or lute bodies would give them better sound quality.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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An exceptional discovery<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Although few historical documents have come down to us on Ouvrard, he is clearly an important figure in Parisian violin making in the 18th century. Amongst the very few known hurdy-gurdies by him, the example in the Vichy Ench\u00e8res sale stands out for its extreme refinement. Unknown until then, it was instantly accepted as one of Ouvrard’s finest creations. The stamp, as well as the signature on the inside \u2013 near the tab in the centre of the body \u2013 which was revealed during an endoscopy examination, are further evidence of the exceptional nature of this hurdy-gurdy. The date inscribed, which appears to be 1747, corresponds to the last year of the maker’s life, when he was at the peak of his art.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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Its head is adorned with a splendid carved crowned Moorish face, in inlaid ebony, which is very refined and comparable to that of the Museum of Instruments at the University of Edinburgh. Ouvrard meticulously worked the most minute details in his strive for aesthetics and perfection, such as the spectacular ebony and ivory herringbone marquetry that covers the body of the former lute. There is no doubt that this instrument was intended for an important patron, such as a court lady or a famous musician.<\/p>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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A \u201cYe-Ye\u201d hurdy-gurdy<\/h1>\n\n\n\n
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Although little is known to us about its provenance, some historical documents tell us about one of the personalities who crossed her path: Annie Chancel, better known as Sheila!
Indeed, during a trip to Auvergne, the unmistakable Y\u00e9-Y\u00e9 icon was photographed with the superb Ouvrard instrument in her hands (\u00c2ge Tendre, n\u00b011, November 1963)! The reason for this remains mysterious\u2026 Didn\u2019t we tell you that this instrument was extraordinary?<\/p>\n<\/div>\n\n\n\n

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\"Sheila
Sheila \u00a9 \u00c2ge Tendre, num\u00e9ro 11, novembre 1963<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n<\/div>\n<\/div>\n<\/div><\/div>\n\n\n\n
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\ud83d\ude80 Suivez-nous !<\/strong><\/h2>\n\n\n\n