Jean-Baptiste Greuze

The painting is slightly cooler in tone than the catalogue illustration suggests. The canvas has been recently cleaned, restored and relined and appears in good condition, with the impasto well preserved. Some light craquelure can be made out with the naked eye. There is a small indentation in the paint surface in the girl's left cheek. Inspection under UV light reveals a patch of retouching in the hair upper left, to the left of the girl's left eye, and under the girl's hair in the white shirt. Offered in a gilt and plaster wood frame in good 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."

We are grateul to Edgar Munhall for endorsing the attribution to Greuze on the basis of photographs and for proposing a date of execution in the early 1780s. In his expertise, a copy of which accompanies the present lot, Mr. Munhall writes: "It is a strikingly modern picture, devoid of any hint of the sentimentality traditionally associated with the artist's representations of youth."