Alfred Stevens

Madame Caillet
Madame Robert Janssens de Mot, Brussels (grandmother of the present owner, by 1928); thence by descent

Brussels, Société Royale des Beaux-Arts de Bruxelles, Exposition rétrospective de l'Art belge, 1905, no. 974
Brussels, Musée d'Art Moderne, Alfred et Joseph Stevens, 1928, no. 44
Charleroi, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Rétrospective Alfred Stevens, 1975, no. 13, illustrated in the catalogue
Brussels, Fonds Mercator; Brussels, Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique; Amsterdam, Van Gogh Museum: Alfred Stevens, Brussels-Paris, 1823-1906, 2009, no. 75, illustrated in the catalogue

Gustave Van Zype, Les frères Stevens, Brussels, 1936, no. 159
Paul Caso, 'La rétrospective Alfred Stevens à Charleroi a ressuscité la grâce de la femme du Second Empire', in Le Soir, 1975, cited
Christiane Lefebvre, Alfred Stevens: 1823-1906, Paris, 2006, p. 145, fig. 172, illustrated
Danielle Derrey-Capon, Brigitte de Patoul, Dominique Marechal, Alfred Stevens (1823-1906) et le panorama de l'Histoire du Siècle, Brussels, 2009, p. 54, illustrated, p. 55, cited

The overall appearance of this painting is good and it is ready to hang. The turnover and tacking edges are covered with old paper tape, however the canvas appears to have an old fine weave canvas relining. There are a number of very small bubbles in the paint surface relating to the glue used in the relining. Ultraviolet light reveals some small retouchings in the red wall in the upper right of the composition and to the left and right framing edges. The old varnish layer also fluoresces quite opaquely in parts and it is just possible that there may be other old retouchings below this which are not clearly visible. As just visible in the catalogue illustration, there are some areas of slight thinness in the paint surface related to previous cleaning. Held in a gilt neoclassical frame, most likely the original.
"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."

Painted circa 1867-68, the present work forms a pendant to La Lettre de la rupture, of the same dimensions, in the Musée d'Orsay. Both works draw inspiration from Stevens's L'Inde à Paris of 1865-66 (now lost, known only through black and white photograph). The glimpsed backdrop reveals the taste for japonisme fashionable at the time, and referenced by so many painters of the day, from Edouard Manet to James McNeill Whistler. 

Hailed by his contemporary, the artist Félicien Rops, as the 'best Belgian painter', Alfred Stevens displays in his oeuvre an affinity with the artistic techniques burgeoning in Paris at the end of the nineteenth century. Stevens and Manet had formed a close friendship in Paris and often played dominoes in the Café Riche on the Boulevard des Italiens. Like Manet's paintings of Parisians, Stevens's depictions of elegantly dressed ladies in fashionable attire were a record of his times. Stevens was well connected and his close association with the highest echelons of Second Empire society meant that even such social luminaries as Princesses Mathilde and Metternich often lent him dresses for his models.

The sitter is the same as in The Blue Ribbon, sold in these rooms on 30 May 2008. As in that painting, and notably the works of Stevens's contemporary James Tissot (fig.2), it is left to the viewer to piece together the exact narrative. The girl is clearly moved by the letter she has just read. Has she received news that her lover or husband has been wounded, or fallen in battle? Or is she coming to terms with the grande rupture? Leaving the viewer with these questions unanswered is what made Stevens's, Manet's, and Tissot's paintings in particular, so modern.