Lot 475
  • 475

French School, 18th Century

Estimate
10,000 - 15,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • French School, 18th Century
  • An Interior with an elegant lady, her spaniel and a maid before a fireplace, a figure leaning from the window above
  • indistinctly signed with a monogram on the bed frame .f. B. (center left)
  • oil on panel
  • 13 1/4 by 10 5/8 in.; 33.5 by 27 cm.

Condition

Panel is slightly bowed. The surface is in generally good condition aside from very fine craquelure and the edges are rubbed from frame abrasion. Under UV; thick masking varnish showing 2 possible generations of repaint; older upper right; newer horizontal line across back of dress and in rafters upper 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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

Alistair Laing noted stylistic parallels between this convivial domestic scene and  the Interior Scene with a Woman with two Children presenting a petition to two abbés sold in these rooms in 1999 and at that time given to Gabriel de Saint-Aubin. The anonymous artist here employs a similarly loose, painterly approach, sketching fabrics with broad strokes and highlighting their folds with swift white marks.

We are grateful to Alistair Laing for his assistance in cataloguing this lot based on a firsthand inspection of the painting.

1.  See auction catalogue, Important Old Master Paintings Sale, Sotheby's New York, 28 January 1999, lot 289.