François Boucher

Baron Charles Emmanuel Janssen, La Hulpe, in 1964

Paris, Galerie Cailleux, François Boucher, Premier Peintre du Roi, 1964, no. 63

A. Ananoff, François Boucher, vol. II, Lausanne/Paris 1976, p. 122, no. 431/2, reproduced; 
P. Jean-Richard, L'Œuvre gravé de François Boucher dans la Collection Edmond de Rothschild, Paris 1978, p. 196, under no. 720

Paper slightly browned at the edges. Very minor water mark just above breast. one or two very slight spots and abrasions, but overall condition of chalks very good and fresh. Laid down on an old backing. Sold in a 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."

This drawing corresponds with the head of Venus in Boucher's 1754 painting, The Judgement of Paris, now in the Wallace Collection, London (fig. 1).  It seems likely, though, that such an elaborate, coloured drawing was made not as a preparatory study, but as a finished work for sale, based on the figure in the painting.  All the same, it was very probably executed at around the same time as the painting.  

This repetition in the form of chalk drawings or pastels of appealing figures and motifs from Boucher's paintings was a well established practice in his highly efficient studio, and in cases like this, where the artist clearly found the figure of particular charm and interest, the result is a drawing of extremely high quality.  Another equally outstanding and very comparable pastel study of this type by Boucher, based on the head of Venus in his 1766 painting, Venus Stepping out of the Water, is in a private collection.¹  A similarly posed figure (though differing slightly in the angle of the head, the details of the hairstyle, and the presence of drapery over the figure's right shoulder) also served as the basis for a crayon-manner print, in the same direction, by Gilles Demarteau.²  The print notes that the drawing on which it was based (which because of the slight compositional differences was presumably not the present work) was in the collection of Madame d'Azaincourt. 

1.  Esquisses, pastels et dessins de François Boucher dans les collections privées, exhib. cat., Versailles, Musée Lambinet, 2004, pp. 118-19, no. 54
2.  Jean-Richard, loc. cit.; Dumarteau's no. 149