Jean-Baptiste Greuze

John Wilson, Brussels, by 1873, still in 1874;
Samuel Putnam Avery (1822-1904), New York;
Matthew C. D. Borden, London, by 1913;
His sale, New York, Plaza Hotel, American Art Association, February 13, 1913, lot 19, for $13,000, to Mrs. Thompson;
Duc de Grammont, Paris;
With Arthur Tooth, London;
Possibly with Wildenstein and Co., New York, until 1929, to Hearst;
William Randolph Hearst, New York and Los Angeles, 1929;
Marion Davies, Los Angeles, 1937-1947;
From whom purchased by The Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles, 1947, (acc. no. 47.29.7).

Paris, Collection M. John W. Wilson: exposée dans la Galerie du Cercle Artistique et Littéraire de Bruxelles, 1873;
Los Angeles, Los Angeles Art Association, Loan Exhibition of International Art, October 15-December 15, 1937, no. 82x (titled arroneously as "Marie");
Stockholm, Nordisk Rotogravyr, Chinese Gold & Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, 1954, no. 65;
Los Angeles, The J. Paul Getty Museum, Greuze the Draftsman, September 10-December 1, 2002, (hors catalogue).

C. Tardieu, "Les grandes collections étrageres, II: John W. Wilson", in Gazette des Beaux-Arts, vol. 9, January 1874, p.44;
C. Norman, J.B. Greuze, Paris 1892, p.101;
C. Mauclair and J.B. Martin, Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint et dessiné de Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Paris 1906, p. 29, no. 411;
W. Valentiner and A. Jaccaci, Old and Modern Masters in the Collection of M.C.D. Borden, 1911, vol. II, cat. no. 34;
Chinese Gold & Silver in the Carl Kempe Collection, exhibition catalogue, Stockholm 1954, cat. no. 65;
P. Wescher and E. Feinblatt, Los Angeles County Museum, Catalogue of Paintings I: Catalogue of Italian French and Spanish Paintings, XV-XVIII Century, Los Angeles 1954, p. 65, reproduced (called L'amitié);
S. Schaefer, et al, European Painting and Sculpture in the Los Angeles County Museum of Art, Los Angeles 1987, p. 47, 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 oil on panel has recently been restored and is ready to hang. The panel has been cradled on the reverse, which seems to be effective in securing the panel. The panel is flat and the paint layer is stable. There are a few retouches visible in the girl's chin and in her throat, and a few other tiny specks in her left hand. Overall the condition is remarkably good, particularly for a picture of this period.
"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."

A series of variations on this lovely composition by Greuze are extant. The most notable are those in the Wallace Collection, London and the National Gallery, London. Aditionally, a close replica or copy of the present composition belongs to the Baltimore Museum (acc. no. 1938.185). The picture in the Wallace Collection is usually referred to as an allegory of "Innocence," for in addition to its religious connotations, the inclusion of the lamb in Western art has traditionally been equated with a sense of innocence, gentleness, patience and humility. With such iconography in the present picture, Greuze thus injects the female sitter with the same characteristics. The depiction of young women tenderly holding small animals, insinuating their ability to show tender emotion, relates to the eighteenth-century cult of sensibilité developed by Rousseau and his circle. Greuze's subject thus appears infused with the subtle combination of sexual innocence and emotional depth.¹ Similarly, one may read the emotional intent of the compostions of all of the versions to symbolize "L'Amitié", or friendship, as the inscription on the present painting suggests.

Not much has, as yet, been determined about the date when Greuze might have executed this picture. Anita Brookner has stated that this type of subject, employing young girls in various emotional states, reached its peak in Greuze's career during the 1780s.²

Engraved by Charles Tardieu

1. S. Duffy, et al., The Wallace Collection, London 2005.
2. A. Brookner, Greuze, London 1972, p.128.