Luc-Vincent Thiéry

The frontispiece of the first edition of Luc-Vincent Thiéry's Guide des amateurs et des étrangers voyageurs à Paris, ou Description raisonnée de cette Ville, de sa Banlieue, et de tout ce qu'elles contiennent de remarquable, published in 1787. Luc-Vincent Thiéry (1734–1822) was a French lawyer and writer, best known for his publications about Paris.

Biography Little is known about Luc-Vincent Thiéry's life. There are few sources and the information is sparse. He was born in Paris on 27 September 1734 and died in Soissons on 12 January 1822. Thiéry was interested in art, architecture and literature. He was a member of several literary societies.

Publications Luc-Vincent Thiéry's different guides on the city of Paris were published between 1783 and 1796. His most famous guide is the Guide des amateurs et des étrangers voyageurs à Paris, ou Description raisonnée de cette Ville, de sa Banlieue, et de tout ce qu'elles contiennent de remarquable (Guide for connoisseurs and foreign travelers to Paris, or analysed description of this city, its suburbs and everything that is remarkable about them). Although published twice, it's the first edition from 1787 for which he is still remembered today.

First edition Engraving for page 22 (volume II) of the first edition of Luc-Vincent Thiéry's Guide des amateurs et des étrangers voyageurs à Paris, ou Description raisonnée de cette Ville, de sa Banlieue, et de tout ce qu'elles contiennent de remarquable, published in 1787, showing the Monument du Palais de Justice. In the years 1783, 1784 and 1785, Thiéry's publisher, Libraire Hardouin à Paris, published his Almanach du Voyageur à Paris. With the edition of 1785, the editor announced that a new and more comprehensive guide in two volumes will follow. Two years later, in January 1787, together with an updated version of the Almanach du Voyageur à Paris, the first edition of the Guide des amateurs et des étrangers voyageurs à Paris, ou Description raisonnée de cette Ville, de sa Banlieue, et de tout ce qu'elles contiennent de remarquable was published. The publication was dedicated to Pierre-Charles Laurent de Villedeuil.

A reference work Thanks to the precise descriptions, Thiéry's guide is still a reference work for museums, art dealers and auction houses today.

Rediscovered pieces from the collection of the Baron de Besenval One of the rare engravings of the limited edition of the Besenval version of La Gimblette (clothed version) by Charles Bertony, dedicated to the Baron de Besenval (dedication to the baron and imprint of his family coat of arms). Published in 1783. A few years ago, some valuable pieces from the Baron de Besenval's former collection were auctioned. Thanks to Thiéry's guide, and the Baron de Besenval's 1795 collection sale catalogue by the auctioneer Alexandre Joseph Paillet, these pieces could be identified as pieces that previously belonged to the collection of Pierre Victor de Besenval. One of the pieces was the bureau plat of the Baron de Besenval, which was sold at Christie's in London on 25 May 2021, as lot 30, for EUR 462,500. Thiéry describes this writing desk in detail in his 1787 guide. He even mentions that it was placed in the baron's bedroom, the Chambre du maître. However, the highlight in this context was sold two months later, on 8 July 2021, by the same auction house: The Baron de Besenval Garniture, a six-piece set made of Chinese celadon porcelain mounted in gilt bronze. Part of it can be seen on the mantelpiece in the iconic portrait of the Baron de Besenval, Le Baron de Besenval dans son salon de compagnie, painted by Henri-Pierre Danloux in 1791. The celadon porcelain garniture was sold in three lots (lots 4, 5 and 6) for a total of GBP 1,620,000.

Luc-Vincent Thiéry also reports a beautiful commode in the baron's bedroom, the front of which is decorated with inlaid stone reliefs of flowers and fruits (pietra dura). This commode has been proven to be identical to the commode à vantaux on display in the Green Drawing Room at Buckingham Palace.