Lot 117
  • 117

PIERRE-PAUL PRUD'HON | Académie of a standing woman

Estimate
100,000 - 150,000 EUR
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Description

  • Pierre-Paul Prud'hon
  • Académie of a standing woman
  • Black pencil, heightened with white on blue paper
  • 57,5 x 31, 4 cm ; 22 2/3 by 12 1/3 in.

Provenance

Sale François Flameng, May 26th 1919, n° 147 (4,100 fr) ;
Former collection Maurice de Wendel ; 
Thence by descent to the present owners.

Exhibited

Le Dessin français de Watteau à Prud'hon, Galerie Cailleux, Paris, April 1951, n°113

Literature

Jean Guiffrey, L'œuvre de Pierre-Paul Prudhon, Paris, 1924, n°1136, not illustrated 
John Elderfield and Robert Gordon, The language of the body, drawings by Pierre-Paul Prud'hon, New-York, 1996, pp 118-119, reproduced full page in color pl.13

Condition

The drawing is laid on a sheet of paper. The edges are very slightly uneven. The area hidden by the mount is slightly bluer (showing the original colour of the paper) and the brown trace of the mount is visible on the four edges of the sheet. In our opinion the white seems slightly rubbed in places. The paper is slightly faded. Dirt spots and numerous foxings are visible on the whole sheet. A larger spot is located on the lower left, near the subject’s leg (visible on the catalogue’s illustration) A thin horizontal trace of about 15 cm, likely due to humidity, is visible along the inferior edge, on the left . Two small restorations (hardly visible): on around the right groin, one on the left breast. The catalogue illustration is slightly more contrasted than 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."

Catalogue Note

Very few of the greatest painters of the neoclassical generation escaped the long shadow of Jacques-Louis David. However, before the Romantic revolution, Prud'hon succeeded more than any in breaking away from this influence, developing a delicate and refined style that is encapsulated in the present drawing. With its large size and admirable quality, this work – which is in good condition – immediately stands out as an important drawing among those of the artist's académie studies that are still in private hands.

The model is shown in a natural pose, resting against a support, her face in profile turned gracefully downwards. Her left arm has been left unfinished by the artist.

Like other académies by Prud'hon, this sheet raises interesting questions about the artist's relationship with this type of work: Prud'hon made life drawings throughout his long career, although by definition the academic study is a training exercise, part of an artist's apprenticeship. While accepted as the basis of a classical art education, most painters and sculptors abandoned such studies as they matured.

But this is not the case with Prud'hon – quite the contrary. His académies, portraying both men and women, represented a distinct part of his drawing activity, which he practised throughout his working life and developed to its highest form of expression. As in the case of the present drawing, these are often works in their own right, rather than training exercises or preparatory sketches.

The study can probably be dated to the beginning of the 1810s: at this time the artist had a studio at the Sorbonne, where he was able to benefit from the life modelling sessions organised by his pupil Trézel.

The model could be Marguerite, one of Prud'hon's favourite models at this time. Her delicate features and her hair can be recognised in other life studies by the artist dating from the same period.