Nicolas Lancret

Possibly M. Auguste sale, Paris, Lemaître, May 28, 1850, lot 33;
Sir William Wellesley Knighton, 2nd Bt., London and Blendworth Lodge, Hampshire;
His deceased sale, London, Christie's, May 23, 1885, lot 461 (as by Watteau);
M. Pitt-Rivers, London;
With Wildenstein, Paris, 1928 (according to WITT library mount);
Emil J. Stehli, New York, by 1933;
Thence by descent to Henry E. Stehli and Lily Stehli Bonner, New York;
Sold by their order, New York, Parke-Bernet, November 30, 1950, lot 19, for $9,000 to M. Goulandis.

Chicago, Art Institute of Chicago, A Century of Progress, International Loan Exhibition of Fine Arts, 1933, no. 218;
New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, Exhibition of French Painting and Sculpture of the XVIII Century, 1935-6, reproduced pl. 15.

Possibly G. Wildenstein, Lancret, Paris 1924, p. 79, cat. no 120;
E. Singleton, Old world masters in new world collections, 1929, p. 294;
W.R. Valentiner, Das unbekannte Meisterwerke in öffentlichen und privaten Sammlungen, Berlin 1930, vol. I, cat. no. 79, reproduced.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com , an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting has not been restored for a number of years. The canvas has a 19th century glue lining. The paint layer is stable yet the lining seems to primarily have been employed to attach an addition of approximately three and a half inches, running across the top of the picture from right to left. It is unlikely that the join is original and that the painted area above the join is original. However, the remainder of the picture although very dirty, seems to be in lovely condition. There are no restorations visible under ultraviolet light. The figure themselves and the landscape are unabraded for the most part, except possibly toward the horizontal join where some abrasion may have occurred in the tree trunks. In our opinion the proportions of the picture would be better without the addition across the top. It may have been made because of the elaborate frame or simply to enlarge the picture. Some considerations should be given to removing this addition and returning the picture to its original size. The painting itself seems to be in beautiful state.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

We are grateful to Mary Tavener Holmes who, based on firsthand inspection, has confirmed this painting to be by Lancret and datable to circa 1730.

By the 1730s Lancret had moved out of Antoine Watteau's stylistic orbit and had established a distinctive style of his own.   The faces of his figures had become less precious and more robust and his use of color more vivid.¹  During this period, Lancret produced some of his finest works, such as La Camargo Dancing (Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art).  The subject of a musical concert was one he returned to often and the Wildenstein catalogue of his works (see Literature) lists numerous paintings depicting figures making music, most of them in outdoor settings.  The composition of the two figures in the present work is similar in pose to two figures at the left-hand side of Lancret's Outdoor Concert with the Beautiful Greek and the Amorous Turk of circa 1728.²  In that painting, the figures are part of a larger group of musicians providing the accompaniment for two dancing figures at the right side of the composition. Here Lancret has made the flute player and young woman singing the central focus in this charming and intimate composition.

A note on the Provenance:
This painting once belonged to Sir William Wellesley Knighton of Blendworth Lodge, Hampshire whose sizeable collection was sold following his death in 1885.  The collection is mentioned by Waagen who, though he himself did not visit the house and see the collection, knew of its existence and reported it to include between 80 to 100 paintings including Old Master and English School paintings, as well as drawings and engravings.³  Sir William Wellesley Knighton inherited many of them from his father, Sir William Knighton, 1^st Bt. (1776-1836), a physician and courtier who became Private Secretary to King George IV and Keeper of the Privy Purse.  The elder Knighton, an avid collector, was a friend of Sir Thomas Lawrence and patron of Sir David Wilkie, both of whom painted his portrait.
In the mid-20^th century, "Le Duo" was in the collection of Emil J. Stehli (1868-1945) in New York who was the president of Stehli & Co., a silk manufacturing firm started by his great-grandfather in Switzerland.  His collection included works by other French 18^th Century masters such as Boucher, Pater, Watteau, Nattier, Greuze and Vigée-Lebrun.

It has been suggested to us that there is an addition of approximately four inches to the top of the composition. 

1.  See M.T. Holmes, Nicolas Lancret 1690-1743, exhibition catalogue, New York 1991, pp. 27-8.
2.  Ibid., p. 65, reproduced plate 8.
3.  See Dr. Waagen, Treasures of Art in Great Britain,Vol. IV, London 1857, pp. 373-74.