The Dandy or Petit Maitre from the Cris de Paris series

Christophe Huet was likely a brother of the leading Parisian porcelain dealer Jean Charles Huet, who maintained a long-standing and intensive business relationship with the Meissen manufactory. He was already involved in the Lemaire/Hoym affair (Eberle, p. 28). Later, he cultivated friendly relations with Johann Joachim Kaendler, to whom he commissioned several works, including not only the Cris de Paris series but also the Monkey Orchestra, for which he likewise provided preparatory drawings by his brother Christophe Huet. These drawings correspond to Huet’s well-known Singeries, which can still be seen today in the châteaux of Madame de Pompadour, the Prince of Condé, and the Duke of Rohan in Paris.

The Dandy occupies a special position within the Cris de Paris series. Together with his companion, the Coquette, they formed the final figures in the series, numbered 36 and 37 in Huet’s drawings. For a long time, they were mistakenly identified as Count and Countess Brühl or as a court lady and cavalier. Even Günter Reinheckel (op. cit.) omitted them from his fundamental essay on Parisian criers, as did the 1997 exhibition catalog (no. 213).

In his important contribution to the Antique Dealer Show, Clarke published all of the preparatory drawings. Following his lead, Martin Eberle clarified in his catalog (p. 13 and nos. 21, 22, Gohlis exhibition) that the Dandy and the Coquette were indeed part of the Paris commission, and that the inscriptions on Huet’s drawings clearly reveal their profession and mannerisms. Likewise, Meissen included the pair with different outfits in the Cris de Londres series (Eberle, nos. 11, 12), where they are referred to as Dandy and Courtesan. In both series, they carry the questionable reputation associated with their out-of-court appearance.

Comparable Pieces:
The Dandy (with Coquette) is relatively rare, and as a pair, even rarer. Early pairs from the Parisian series:

• Collection Gerhardt (1911, Nos. 41, 42, Plate 20), sold for 2,150 marks, described as two figures from the French Comedy, no mention of a pressmark, but likely from the early Paris series
• Collection Darmstädter (Nos. 43–44, Plate 15), also without pressmark details
• Exhibition catalog 2010, Nos. 440 and 441, private collection, without pressmark
• Even in the extensive Schorr Collection (Geneva auction), only a mixed pair appeared (No. 115)