Jacques-André Portail

The Comte de Gabriac;
anonymous sale, Paris, 6 March 1899, lot 86,
acquired at the sale by Georges Dormeuil (L.1146a),
thence by descent to the present owners

X. Salmon, Jacques-André Portail, Cahier du Dessin Français no. 10, Paris 1996, p. 20, no. 38, reproduced p. 64

Hinged to backing down left edge. Remains of earlier backing adhering to the verso, in the corners and in the centres of the edges. Light vertical fold, left of centre. Paper very slightly yellowed, but chalk very good and fresh, and overall condition good. Sold in a fine c.1900 carved and gilded 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. 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."

Portail began his career as an architect, in his native Brittany, and only came to Paris in middle age, to take up a post as superintendant of the King's pictures, at Versailles. 

The majority of his surviving drawings are much more meticulously executed than this, in an almost miniaturist style, and as Xavier Salmon has described, those were the works that found the greatest favour with 18th-century collectors in the orbit of Louis XV.  Thereafter, the artist was more or less forgotten until the collector Philippe de Chennevières rediscovered him in the second half of the 19th century, whereupon his cause was also taken up by others, notably the Goncourt brothers.  From that time on, though, it has always been Portail's livelier, more freely drawn studies, such as this example and lot 56, that have been his most sought-after works. 

Here we see a gentleman seated on a chair, his hat on his knee, paying rapt attention to something, or someone, just outside our view, to the right.  Is he engaged in conversation with a particularly charming lady, or has something fascinating just occured on the other side of the room?  The spontenaity of the composition, the sense that the artist has caught a passing moment in time, is emphasised by the dashing, and strikingly Watteau-like, handling of the chalk.  Rarely did Portail get so close in spirit and style to his illustrious, if by this time long dead, near-contemporary.