Philippe Duboy - LEQUEU - Une énigme - 1987

Rare and sought-after grand livre in near-new condition!
LEQUEU - An Enigma by Philippe Duboy, Hazan editions, 1997.
French first edition, 367 pages, weighing 2.5 kg.

Important work devoted to one of the most singular architects and designers of the late 18th century. Abundantly illustrated, this grand 367-page volume explores the visionary, architectural, and fantastical universe of Lequeu. A sought-after edition, particularly interesting for art history enthusiasts, utopian architecture, and architectural drawings.
This work has major significance because it allows a deep discovery of a figure long unknown in French architecture. Lequeu fascinates with his extraordinary imagination and drawings of remarkable precision. Philippe Duboy’s book helped place the artist at the center of discussions on visionary architecture and the history of art. Its abundant iconography and its status as a comprehensive monograph also make it a sought-after work for collectors and architecture enthusiasts.

Biography of Jean-Jacques Lequeu.
Jean-Jacques Lequeu (1757-1826) was a French architect and designer born in Rouen. Trained in his hometown before moving to Paris, he developed an exceptional graphic oeuvre, consisting of imaginary architectural projects, utopian constructions, factories, fantastic edifices, and sometimes troubling compositions. Much of his work remained on paper, earning him recognition as a remarkable “visionary architect.” His singular universe oscillates between neoclassicism, imagination, dream, and fantasy. His drawings, today preserved notably at the Bibliothèque nationale de France, have sparked considerable renewed interest.

For about fifteen years, the author of this book, Philippe Duboy, has passionately worked on Jean Jacques Lequeu, whom he regards not as an architect, but as an architectural draftsman. This mysterious man, born in 1757, gave the Cabinet des Estampes his papers and largely annotated drawings.
He is “from a noble family of Gaillon,” worked at the Rouen School of Drawing, then in architectural firms, and accompanied in Italy M. de Bouville.
Duboy defines his oeuvre (Arcbitecture Civile, drawings) as a “frivolous supplement to Diderot’s Encyclopedia.” He attempts to characterize him as bizarre, erotomaniac, trickster, bringing him close to and separating him from another Rouen native, Marcel Duchamp.
He reproduces all his drawings, architectural studies, studies for fêtes, expressions (irony against Piranesi), long quotations.
Lequeu, long unknown, interested Bouchot who provided (1895) an analysis of his work which he seems to have more or less reclassified. In 1897 François Benoît speaks of him afterward; he will be claimed by the Surrealists, but is little known, his most erotic images being placed in the Hell of the Bibliothèque nationale. This very intelligent work by Duboy allows us to see in full the oeuvre of one of the most curious figures of the Enlightenment century. @Jean Adhémar, excerpt from Gazette des Beaux-Arts, February 1987.

Book shipped in a meticulously packed package, with insurance and tracking number.



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