Jacques-Germain SOUFFLOT and the dwellings of Mirabeau.

Jacques-Germain SOUFFLOT (1713-1780)

French architect and controller of the King's Buildings.

Autograph letter signed to the Marquis de Marigny.

Handwritten note at the top of Marigny: R [answered] on February 2, 1767.

One folio page. Wax seal in the upper left corner.

Paris, February 2, 1767

From the heating problems of the Marquis de Mirabeau to the organization of the auction of the Julienne collection in the Salon Carré of the Louvre: the architect Soufflot reports on his missions to the Superintendent of the King's Buildings.

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“Sir, You honored me by sending me a letter from M. de Mirabeau from Menars, which I received eight to ten days ago. It would be desirable for those who make requests of you to inform the inspectors or the comptroller of the details. I was at the Luxembourg Palace again the day before yesterday morning without finding M. de Mirabeau; I knew the subject of my inquiry, but he filled me in more detail, in a letter he honored me by writing yesterday, about what I wished to know . I see no inconvenience, Sir, in the position of his stove for the neighbors. There might be some for the interior, but he seems willing to take the necessary precautions to avoid this or to change its arrangement if another were more suitable.”

I also couldn't find Monsieur de Montullé; but he came to see me this morning, and following his explanation of his intentions regarding the salon where he asks you to hold the sale of Monsieur de Julienne's cabinet, I see no problem with it because it will be finished before August. There will be no problem with the permission you gave to Monsieur Fregel [?] because everything will be cleared out before the end of February. I even told him today to go see Monsieur de Montullé to discuss the closing arrangements with him. There are some repairs to be made to the tiles and stained glass. I told Monsieur Brebion to draw up a list. I see that Monsieur de Montullé will not spare himself from having them done. I remain, with respect, Monsieur, your most humble and obedient servant. Paris, February 2, 1767. Soufflot.

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The younger brother of the all-powerful Marquise de Pompadour, Abel-François Poisson de Vandières, Marquis de Marigny et de Ménars (1727-1781), owed his career and fortune to his sister's patronage. His appointment as Director General of Buildings in 1751 secured him considerable power. Under his administration, Paris experienced a veritable construction boom: the École Militaire, the École de Chirurgie, numerous theaters, and the redesign of the Place de la Concorde. He opened the first museum in France at the Luxembourg Gardens and vigorously championed the new tenets of Neoclassicism. He commissioned Soufflot to build the new church of Paris, which later became the Panthéon, on the Montagne Sainte-Geneviève.

Victor Riquetti de Mirabeau (1715-1789) and his family occupied an apartment in the Luxembourg Palace. Taking advantage of the Buildings Administration, Mirabeau frequently requested renovations to improve his comfort. Soufflot, as Controller of the King's Buildings, oversaw all necessary work on residences belonging to the crown.

The second part of the letter concerns one of the most important auctions of the 18th century: the sale of the collections of Jean de Jullienne (1686-1766), director of the Gobelins Dye Works but above all an art lover, patron, and enlightened collector. A friend and protector of Antoine Watteau, whose work he owned some forty paintings and four hundred drawings, and a generous donor to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, he assembled in his time the most exceptional collection of paintings, drawings, furniture, and objets d'art, notably major pieces by André-Charles Boulle and the finest Japanese lacquerware.

Jean-Baptiste-François de Montullé (1721–1787), as this letter confirms, obtained permission to sell Jean de Jullienne's prodigious collection at the Louvre; more precisely, in the Salon Carré, at the end of the Grande Galerie, where the Salons of the Royal Academy were held. This salon was generally organized around August 25th, the feast day of Saint Louis, and one can then understand why Soufflot states in the letter that before this month "everything will be cleared out.".

Soufflot planned the necessary repairs and maintenance for the Grand Salon of the Louvre and entrusted Maximilien Brébion (1716-1797), his principal collaborator, with the task. Brébion would complete the construction of the Panthéon after Soufflot's death in 1780.

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. His life, his work – His aesthetics. Jean Mondain-Monval. Lemerre. 1918.

. The Countess of Rochefort and her friends. Louis de Loménie. Mr. Lévy. 1870.