Jean-Baptiste Perronneau

Très probablement, Collection particulière, Angleterre;
Très probablement, Ancienne collection Wildenstein;
Très probablement, Vente anonyme, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 13-15 avril 1905, no. 301 (en pendant avec un Portrait présumé de Lady Coventry).

Londres, Three French Reigns, 1933, no. 37.

Très probablement, L. Vaillat et P. Ratouis de Limay, J.-B. Perronneau (1715-1783), sa vie et son oeuvre, Paris, 1923, p. 122 et p. 229 (64 x 50 cm).

The colours of the painting are darker than the catalogue illustration. Very good overall condition. The canvas has been relined. There is a trace of horizontal seam on 3 cm from the upper part. A small restored tear (2 cm) is visible in the upper right corner. Under ultraviolet light: Some small dots of repaint in the background on the left.
"In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective, qualified opinion. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Elève de Charles-Joseph Natoire, Jean-Baptiste Perronneau s'illustra à la fois comme pastelliste et peintre de portraits. Il fut reçu à l'Académie Royale en 1753. Ce fut ensuite auprès de la haute bourgeoisie qu'il trouva le plus grand nombre de ses modèles. Grand rival du pastelliste Maurice Quentin de La Tour, il s'imposa difficilement à Paris mais remporta un vif succès en province et à l'étranger, en Italie, en Angleterre et aux Pays-Bas. Redécouvert au XIX^ème siècle, Perronneau se différencia de La Tour par une utilisation harmonieuse des couleurs et un traitement plus délicat des effets de lumière.

Notre tableau représenterait George William Coventry, 6^ème comte de Coventry. Il avait pour pendant le portrait présumé de son épouse, de format sensiblement plus petit, signé et daté 1773 en haut à gauche (localisation inconnue). L'identité des modèles a pu être établie par un rapprochement avec deux pastels représentant les mêmes personnages de La Tour. Ces pastels passèrent à la vente Cronier des 4 et 5 décembre 1905.

Les deux portraits de Perronneau auraient été retrouvés en Angleterre, attestant d'un possible séjour de l'artiste sur le continent anglo-saxon à cette époque alors même que l'on perd sa trace après le Salon de 1773 (Vaillat et Ratouis de Limay, op. cit., p. 122).


PORTRAIT SAID TO BE OF GEORGE WILLIAM COVENTRY, 6^th EARL OF COVENTRY (1722-1809)

Signed and dated upper right
Oil on canvas

A pupil of Charles-Joseph Natoire, Jean-Baptiste Perroneau was renowned both as a pastellist and a portrait painter. He was admitted into the Académie Royale in 1753. It was from among the upper middle classes that he drew the greatest number of his patrons. Great rival to the pastellist Maurice Quentin de La Tour, he struggled to establish himself in Paris but enjoyed considerable success in the provinces and abroad in Italy, England and the Low Countries. His work can be distinguished from that of La Tour by its harmonious use of colour and a more delicate treatment of the effects of light.

The present picture depicts George William Coventry, 6^th Earl of Coventry. It formerly had as a pendant a portrait said to represent his wife, also signed and dated 1773 upper left, of noticeably smaller dimensions, but its whereabouts are no longer known. The identity of the sitters was established by comparison with two pastels showing the same figures by La Tour. These pastels were sold in the Cronier sale, 4-5 December 1905.

The two Perroneau portraits were rediscovered in England, attesting to a possible sojourn in the British Isles when all trace is lost of him after the 1773 Salon (Vaillat and Ratouis de Limay, op. cit., p. 122).