Lot 13
  • 13

Jules Breton

Estimate
70,000 - 100,000 USD
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Description

  • Jules Breton
  • Innocente
  • signed Jules Breton and dated 1875 (upper right)
  • oil on canvas
  • 22 1/2 by 20 1/2 in.
  • 57.2 by 52.1 cm

Provenance

Private Collection, New York (by 1935)
Thence by descent

Condition

The following condition report was kindly provided by Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc.: This work is in beautiful condition overall. It has been cleaned, retouched and varnished. There are two small areas of retouching in the white color in the upper left background. There is a small group of retouches beneath the signature and another to the upper right of the head. There are also a few retouches above her shoulder on the right. The figure itself shows no retouches except for a spot or two on the shoulder on the left and a few tiny dots in the eyelid on the right side. There is a blonde colored border about 1 ½ inches wide around the top and sides of the work. This border and the edge of the sleeve in the lower right are intended to be beneath the frame. This work may have originally been meant to be a larger picture which the artist himself abbreviated. Regardless, the stretcher and lining are old, and the best idea would be to cover this border with the frame.
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

Innocente presents a moving portrait of a young peasant girl, and while the unusual and seemingly ambivalent treatment of the background suggests that this is a sketch or study, the vigorously painted and highly finished treatment of her facial features, together with the free, natural and vivid brushwork for her hair and scarf, align the painting with Breton's manner and technique for a finished painting at this time. In 1875, Breton had exhibited Song of the Lark (1874, The Art Institute of Chicago) at the Paris Salon to great acclaim, selling it to the American collector Henry Field (see lot 10). In this year, he also published Les Champs et la mer, a book of poems that was very well received. While the tender subject and composition of Innocente invites comparison to the paintings of William Bouguereau, there is a psychological intensity to the girl’s expression that is unique to, and consistent with, Breton’s career-spanning devotion to the honest depiction of peasant life.