Franz Christoph Janneck

In the possession of the family of the current owner since the early 1930s. 

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 work on copper has been cradled on the reverse. As a result, the copper is flat and the paint layer is stable. The condition is extremely good. The painting has not been cleaned recently. There is a visibly yellowed old varnish on the surface, which could easily be removed to reveal a more colorful composition. At present, there is retouching immediately to the right of the central male figure and beneath the seated young lady in the lower left, but these are not of a significant amount. The condition is clearly remarkably good.
"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."

Franz Christoph Janneck was born in Graz in 1703 and established himself in Vienna by the 1730s. In 1740 he studied at the Viennese Academy, later holding the post of assessor there from 1752 until 1758. Like his friend Johann Georg Platzer, his oeuvre consists of cabinet pictures of conversation pieces, as well as a smaller number of landscapes and religious subjects. These were often painted on polished copper or panel with an exceptional degree of finish and detail. His fêtes galantes and merry interior scenes, such as the present work, are considered his finest achievements and remain among the greatest examples of the Austrian rococo.