Jacques Laurent Agasse

Gustave Brocher, Geneva;
Marie Brocher, Geneva, 1930;
Charles Chenevière, Geneva.

Geneva, Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Exposition d'oeuvres du peintre genevois Jacques-Laurent Agasse appartenant à des collections privées, February - March 1930, no. 8;
Geneva, Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Genève à travers les âges, art et histoire, 1942, no. 6;
Geneva, Musée d'Art et d'Histoire; London, The Tate Gallery, Jacques-Laurent Agasse, 1767-1849, 10 November 1988 - 2 April 1989, no. 67.

Manuscript Record Book, "July 1833 Dito 12 by 14," (manuscript, Musée d'Art et d'Histoire, Geneva);
D. Baud-Bovy, Peintres Genevois du XVIII^e et du XIX^e siècle, 1766-1849, Geneva 1904, pp. 124, 126, reproduced p. 124, no. 89;
C.F. Hardy, J.L. Agasse, his life, his work, 1905, pp. 191-92;
Promenade à l'Exposition du Centenaire 1814-1914, Geneva 1914, p. 25;
A. Cartier, "Coup d'oeil sur les Arts à Geneve de la fin du XVIIe siècle à l'époque de la Restauration," in Nos Anciens et leurs oeuvres, 1917, p. 47;
C.F. Hardy, "La vie et l'oeuvre de Jacques-Laurent Agasse," in Pages d'art, April 1921, reproduced;
L. Gielly, "Musée de Genève, l'exposition Jacques-Laurent Agasse," in L'Art en Suisse, March 1930, p. 71, reproduced;
L. Gielly, L'école genevoise de peinture, Geneva 1935, p. 221;
U. Thieme and F. Becker, Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart, revised edition, Leipzig 1985, vol. I, p. 498;
R. Loche and C. Sanger, in Jacques-Laurent Agasse, 1767-1849, exhibition catalogue, London and Geneva, 1989, p. 172, cat. no. 67, reproduced.

The painting overall presents a strong and clearly defined image. The canvas is unlined and is stable and firm on its stretcher. There appears to be some old strengthening to the dark background surrounding the female figure's hat and to darks in the lower left corner, which fluoresce under ultraviolet light. Some other areas, in the drapery and in the hairline of the female sitter for example, also fluoresce though this may be due to old varnish from a previous selective clean. The painting is ready to hang, offered in a decoratively carved gilt wood 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.
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Agasse moved to London from Geneva in 1800 and lived in several different locations before settling at No. 4 Newman Street in 1810, where he would reside for the next twenty-five years.  In the early 19th century, Newman Street and the surrounding area north of Oxford Street was an artistic hub, and home to a great many painters, sculptors and engravers.¹  Agasse became friendly with the family of his landlord, George Booth, and developed a particularly close bond with the Booth children whom he sketched and painted many times over the years.  In this charming picture his two models were Georgina Booth and her younger brother George.  According to the artist’s Manuscript Record Book, he painted this subject twice in July of 1833:  a larger version described as “July 1833 The Secret half length 3/4 of two children;” and the present work “July 1833 Dito 12 by 14.”  The larger version remained in the possession of the Booth family and was exhibited at the Royal Academy in 1845 as no. 19, the last of Agasse’s works to be shown in public.  C.F. Hardy (see Literature, p. 191) considered another picture listed in the Manuscript Record Book as “September 1832 two children in the same canvas,” to be a study for The Important Secret.

1.  See C. Sanger, under Literature, p. 36.