François Boucher

Possibly Claude Alexandre de Villeneuve, comte de Vence (1702–60), 1756;
His sale, Paris, 24 November 1760, postponed to 9 February 1761, lot 140, for 192 livres to Ebertz;
Mrs S.J. Lanahan, Baltimore;
By whom sold, London, Sotheby's, 17 November 1982, lot 73 for £11,000;
With Harari and Johns, London;
Private collection, Tokyo;
Anonymous sale, London, Christie's, 7 July 2006, lot 181, where acquired by the present owner.

Tokyo, Odakyu Grand Gallery; Umeda-Osaka, Daimaru Museum; Hokkaido Hakodate Museum of Art; Yokohama, Sogo Museum of Art, Three Masters of the French Rococo: Boucher, Fragonard, Lancret, 4 April – 12 August 1990, no. 5.

E. and J. de Goncourt, L'Art du XVIII siècle, Paris 1880, vol. I, pp. 147 and 207;
A. Michel, François Boucher, Paris 1886, p. 98;
A. Michel, François Boucher, Paris 1906, p. 97, cat. no. 1720;
P. de Nolhac, François Boucher: Premier peintre du Roi, Paris 1907, p. 151;
A. Ananoff, François Boucher, Paris 1976, vol. I, pp. 184-5, cat. no. 47;
P. Jean-Richard, L'œuvre gravé de François Boucher dans la Collection Edmond de Rothschild, Paris 1978, p. 249, under cat. no. 995;
A. Ananoff, L'Opera completa di François Boucher, Paris 1980, pp. 88–89, cat. no. 47.

The canvas has a firm relining and a clear varnish. The painting appears to be in good overall condition with no major damages visible to the naked eye. There is a very slight degree of wear in the dark tones to the lower left and in the blue of the sky at the top left. Inspection under ultra violet light reveals that the varnish is somewhat uneven and that the majority of the painted oval has been repainted. There are some retouchings in the heads of the sheep and around the horns of the cow at the back of the group to the right. There are other scattered retouchings in the sky and throughout the canvas, most seemingly of a cosmetic nature. In good overall condition.
"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."

This painting has been dated by J.P. Marandel and Alastair Laing to the years immediately following Boucher’s trip to Italy, 1728–31. As such, it is one of the artist’s earliest surviving paintings, comparable to other related subjects by Boucher from the same period, which also depict shepherds leading their flocks to refreshment – see, for example, La Fontaine, executed in 1730 (Speed Art Museum, Louisville, inv. no. 1969.12).¹

Until the 1970s, the composition of this painting was known only through an engraving of 1756 by Etienne Fessard of the version that belonged to the comte de Vence. The comte de Vence also owned another rural picture by Boucher, Le Départ de Jacob, dating from soon after his return from Rome, engraved by Elisabeth Cousinet Lempereur. The present painting is one of two known versions of this composition, the other sold at Bonhams, London, 7 July 2010, lot 68, for £84,000 (with premium). It is difficult to say whether these pictures are free, earlier versions of a more finished work, or if they are hastily executed autograph replicas of a prime version. Fessard’s engraving includes several extra touches, especially in the plants, which differentiate it somewhat from these two paintings.

We are grateful to Alastair Laing for confirming the attribution to François Boucher following first-hand inspection of the picture.

1. See A. Ananoff, François Boucher, Paris 1976, vol. I, p. 183, cat. no. 46, reproduced.