Rating and value of paintings by Martin Drölling (father)

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Artist's rating and value Martin Drölling   

A French academic painter par excellence, Martin Drölling devoted himself mainly to portraits. Most of his work is based on a wide range of paintings, but there are also drawings and very few prints.

The prices at which his works are auctioned range from €100 to €235,000, a substantial delta but one that speaks volumes about the value that can be attributed to the artist's works.

In this case, his oil on canvas Jeune fille écoutant à la porte, 53.5 cm x 45.5 cm, sold for €235,000, against an estimate of €80,000 to €100,000.  

Order of value from a simple work to the most prestigious

Martin Drölling's style and technique  

Martin Drolling's style, rooted in a neo-classical tradition tinged with realism, is distinguished by an almost microscopic attention to detail.

His interior scenes, often bathed in warm, diffused light, reflect a fascination with hushed atmospheres and intimate compositions.

Using a restricted palette dominated by brown and ochre tones, Drolling excelled in the art of chiaroscuro, shaping volumes with a subtlety that evokes the legacy of the Flemish masters. 

His technique, meanwhile, is based on the rigorous application of glazes, enabling translucent layers to be superimposed to achieve unequalled chromatic depth.

The attention paid to textures, whether the wood grain of a piece of furniture or the weave of a fabric, reveals meticulous observation and a keen sense of tactile rendering. In her paintings, each object becomes a narrative element in its own right, contributing to the overall harmony.

In this, Drolling joins the tradition of genre painters, while imbuing his work with a singular signature, blending artisanal precision with poetic sensitivity.

Today, the results of these paintings at auction are as high as those of some of the most famous painters in the world. Jean-Léon Gérôme or the Baron Gros.

The life of Martin Drölling  

Martin Drölling (father - his son, Michel Martin Drölling, was also a painter), was born in Oberhergheim (Haut-Rhin) in 1752, and died in Paris in 1817.

He was part of the neoclassical movement and produced mainly portraits and genre scenes. A stranger to the art world, he decided to become a painter through a mysterious combination of circumstances, and soon revealed his talent.

He signs an apprenticeship contract with a local painter, but they don't get along. Drölling soon decided to continue his apprenticeship in Strasbourg, with a painter who is not known today.

In 1779, the painter finally settled in Paris, where he was admitted to the École des Beaux-Arts. He quickly won recognition for his talent and negotiated a contract with a dealer, enabling him to make a living from his art.

He then married the daughter of a color merchant, with whom he had three children. This union produced Michel-Martin Drölling, born in 1789. His sister, Louise-Adéone Drölling, was also an artist.

Martin Drölling meetsÉlizabeth Vigée le Bruna great portraitist of the nobility who was already well known and recognized in France. She employed the painter as an assistant, and he continued his apprenticeship with her.

Through her, he met Jean-Baptiste Greuze, who passed on to him some of his elegance and mastery of interior scenes and portraits.

Drölling didn't stop at painting - he also experimented with ceramics at Dihl and Guérhard, where he met Alexandre Brogniart, then director of the Sèvres factory, which led to a position as decorative painter from 1802 to 1813.

Despite his many contacts and prestigious teaching, Drölling remained a rather poor painter - facing many hardships, including the death of his wife and one of his children. He had to raise Michel-Martin and Louise-Adéone alone.

Sadly, Drölling did not live to see the full extent of his fame, dying in 1816, just a few days before the opening of the Salon, which saw a burgeoning and enthusiastic interest in the last works of his career.

Autopsy of royal hearts

When the hearts of the Kings of France become paintings

In the early 19th century, several painters, according to legend, bought royal hearts to create an exceptional brown pigment on their canvases - called mummie powder.

The pigment was intended to approach the styles of Caravaggio and Rembrandt - sacred masters of dark nuances.

The technique is not new, since artists in the 17th and 18th centuries had already attempted to imitate it using asphalt and Judean bitumen.

It appeared that powder derived from the remains of Egyptian mummies was ultimately the least expensive and highest quality product to achieve the desired result.

The disastrous sack of Saint-Denis, transcribed by Jean Raspail in Sire, led to the desecration of royal tombs, and many sovereign hearts were subsequently displayed in churches such as Saint-Paul du Marais.

The relics preserved at the time in the Val de Grâce were the object of unprecedented trafficking, giving two painters, Martin Drölling and Alexandre Pau de Saint-Martin, the opportunity to acquire the sovereign relics.

Two paintings containing the hearts of the Kings of France are known to date: Intérieur d'une cuisine (Drölling, in the Louvre) and Vue de Caen (Saint-Martin, in Toulouse).

Forensic pathologist Philippe Charlier confirmed that these were the sovereign hearts of King Louis XIV in the Saint-Martin painting.

Now that the sovereign's heart proteins have confirmed the correlation with the cause of his death, the next step is to carry out the analysis for Drölling's painting in the Louvre, which appears to contain pieces of Louis XIII's heart.

Art historians remain cautious as to the causes that led the painters to carry out these manipulations: desecration, homage or sacralization? - The context is quite specific.

However, it is known that the two artists returned the remains of the royal hearts to King Louis XVIII, who was able to restore their honor by placing them back in the necropolis of Saint-Denis, where cardiotaphs created for the occasion ensure their eternal repose.

Focus on Interior of a kitchen, Martin Drölling, 1810

In Intérieur d'une cuisine, Martin Drölling illustrates with methodical precision his ability to capture the materiality of objects and the quietude of a domestic space.

Constructed with scientific rigor, the work follows in the tradition of the Flemish masters, where the depiction of material details becomes an exercise in virtuosity.

The surfaces, from the patina of worn wood to the metallic sheen of a copper vessel, bear witness to remarkable attention to detail.

Each element, from the enamelled pottery - a souvenir of his time at Sèvres - displayed on a shelf to the metal utensils hanging on the wall, is reproduced with meticulous care, lending an almost tactile dimension to the scene.

The chromatic palette, dominated by warm browns, ochres and earth tones, reinforces visual unity and sets the work in a sober realist register, avoiding any superfluous sparkle.

This colorimetric choice, combined with subtle chiaroscuro, doesn't just structure space; it sculpts volumes and highlights the texture of objects, suggesting a tangible materiality.

The skilfully measured play of light organizes the composition by drawing attention to specific points, creating a visual balance between the whole and the details.

The atmosphere of the scene, hushed and introspective, goes beyond mere documentary rendering. Drölling proposes a thoughtful reading of domesticity, in which each object becomes a bearer of history and use.

This painting is a synthesis of scientific observation and a measured aesthetic sensibility, rooted in everyday life but sublimated by art.

Recognizing Martin Drölling's signature  

The painter didn't sign all his works, which doesn't make for easy appraisal. When his works are signed, the signature appears in flowing script.

Knowing the value of a work

If you happen to own one of Martin Drölling's works, don't hesitate to ask for a free estimate using the form on our website.

A member of our team of experts and certified auctioneers will contact you promptly to provide you with an estimate of the value of your work, as well as any relevant information about it.

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