Jean-Baptiste Mallet

The canvas is relined. This painting is in very fine condition the canvas is not too tightly relined and the coloration is still bright with nice detailing especially in the figures. The crack is lore of the paint is wide and somewhat pronounced but the paint layer does appear to be stable. UV light reveals a couple of small retouches in the background and in the drapery of the standing male figure as well as in the middle of the composition around the white letter. A couple of very small losses are visible in the upper right quadrant of the painting these losses go down to the white preparatory layer. In a carved and gilt wood frame
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Jean-Baptiste Mallet first exhibited at the Salon in 1791, after spending time as an apprentice to Pierre Paul Prud'hon in Paris.  He exhibited in both oil and gouache, primarily painting genre subjects of elegant figures in interiors.  While the influence of his contemporaries Louis-Leopold Boilly and Marguerite Gerard are evident, Mallet's works had a unique sense of setting; he placed his characters in grand, theatre-like compositions and paid great attention to decorative details such as the costumes and interior design.