Adolphe Alexandre Lesrel

The artist
Thence by descent in the family
Acquired from the above by the present owner

Unlined. On the reverse of the canvas there is a ¼ by ¼ inch patch on the upper left and a 3 by ¼ inch patch at the lower center. A faint horizontal stretcher bar mark is visible at center. Widely patterned and stable craquelure visible, particularly noticeable in the upper half. Under UV: inpainting in figure's upturned arm and in her proper left leg that correspond to aforementioned patches. Isolated strokes of finely applied inpainting to address craquelure in her body and face. Additional pindots and thin dashes of inpainting in the right sky, in the billowing fabric, and in the hair of the putto. Concentrated area of thin lines in the lower left corner with a corresponding area of reinforcement on the reverse.
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While the primary version of L'Aurore was exhibited at the 1868 Salon in Paris, and immediately bought by the State, at the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Saint Lô, it was destroyed during World War II.  The present work, a variant of the Salon composition, was also completed in 1868, pointing to the popularity of this evocative composition.