Lettre autographe signée au sujet d'une oeuvre attribuée à Raphaël : l'Apollon et Marsyas

Autograph letter signed by Charles Auguste Émile Durant known as Carolus-Duran, famous portraitist of high society during the Third Republic. One folded sheet.
The artist discusses the forthcoming engraving of a famous painting with very controversial attribution: the Apollo and Marsyas, acquired in 1850 by English collector Morris Moore who maintained, despite the opinion of numerous curators, its attribution to Raphael. Exhibited in London, Paris, Vienna, Venice and Milan, it was finally acquired in 1883 by the Louvre museum for the sum of 200,000 francs. Its attribution is now given to Perugino.
"Monsieur le directeur,
Vous vous souvenez sans doute du tableau de Raphaël appartenant à Mr Morris Moore et que nos grands peintres ainsi que les principaux journaux ont admirée avec tant d'enthousiasme à Paris.
Toute la Rome artistique connaît à présent ce chef-d'oeuvre, auquel on vient de rendre un éclatant témoignage d'admiration.
[...] La commission de la chalcographie pontificale [...] s'est rassemblée et a voté unanimement aux frais du gouvernement la gravure de cette merveille. J'ai pensé devoir vous faire part d'un événement qui a eu un si grand retentissement et qui intéresse tous les amis de l'art." ["Mr. Director, You doubtless remember the Raphael painting belonging to Mr Morris Moore which our great painters as well as the principal newspapers admired with such enthusiasm in Paris. All artistic Rome now knows this masterpiece, to which a brilliant testimony of admiration has just been rendered. [...] The commission of the pontifical chalcography [...] has assembled and unanimously voted at government expense for the engraving of this marvel. I thought I should inform you of an event which has had such great resonance and which interests all friends of art."]