Christophe Adrien (Count) Regley de Koenigsegg Biography

Christophe Adrien (Count) Regley de Koenigsegg

French

1823-1903

Biography

Count Christophe Adrien Regley de Koenigsegg was born in Paris on April 12, 1823, to Nicolas and Civilus Victoire Tondu Lebrun Regley. He began a military career in the French navy in 1839, serving on the frigate Atlante for three decades, during which he fought in North Africa, Italy, and Germany and was taken prisoner at the Battle of Metz in 1870. He was released in 1871. He retired with the rank of Brigadier General (commissioned September 25, 1877) and Commandeur de la Legion d'Honneur. In December of 1855 he married Laure Fanny de Koenigsegg, daughter of Count Louis Koenigsegg and Countess Francoise de Sponeck and added their surname to his.

Koenigsegg had done drawing and some printmaking in the early 1850's but, after his retirement in 1885, began this series of miniature paintings in ink and watercolor. They are miniaturized versions of late 19th century French posters. Many are by identifiable poster artists of the time (Cheret, Lautrec, Rhead, etc.) but many others were posters, done as advertising for regional products; travel agencies, spas, bicycle manufacturers, beverages, etc. and, in many cases, may be the only documentation of these designs.

The watercolors, which are not signed, are meticulously detailed, often requiring a single hair brush. They are painted on a fine wove paper and tipped on to a coarse, somewhat acidic support paper on which he has often written the name of the original poster artist (i.e.: d'Apres Grün) in ink. The original group constituted over 400 images, bound into a number of linen notebooks, which had not been exposed to light and have retained their vibrant colors.

General Christophe Adrien Regley de Koenigsegg died on March 2, 1903 in Poitiers, France.