Augustin Bernard dit Bernard d'Agesci

A l'oeil nu : Les tableaux apparaissent en très bel état de conservation. Ils sont tous les deux peints sur des panneaux de chêne, chacun sur une planche non parquetée. Les deux panneaux sont parfaitement droits et on ne remarque pas de soulèvements. Ils ont fait l'objet d'un nettoyage relativement récent, bien réalisé. Pas de restaurations visibles ni de manques de matières. A la lampe UV : Femme lisant les lettres : petite reprise sur le visage. Jeune fille à la colombe : petite reprise sur l'épaule, le bras, les mains et petits points dans le ciel To the naked eye : Both paintings appear in a very satisfactory condition. Both are painted on a panel made of a non-cradled plank. The two panels are perfectly flat and the painting is very stable. The paintings have been quite recently and well cleaned. No visible restorations nor losses. Under U.V. light : Lady reading the letters : little restoration on the face Young girl with a dove : little restoration on the shoulder, the arm, the hands, and little touches in the sky
"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."

These two charming scenes are works by a currently not well-known artist, yet were mistaken by an American museum as being by Greuze! Indeed, our panel representing a A lady reading the letters of Heloise and Abilard is a variant of a larger work sharing the same subject, and acquired by the Art Institute of Chicago in 1994 as "attributed to Greuze¹ ". But the discovery of an auction catalogue for the collection of the deceased esthete Gabriel Véri-Rainonard in 1785 in Paris mentioned a canvas accurately describing the Chicago museum painting as by a French artist who was living in Italy, Augustin Bernard alias Bernard d'Agesci². A deeper study of this artist attaches a larger corpus of paintings to him, the museum in Niort notably has The Rapture of Europe by the painter. As for our two paintings, they would not have been able to mislead the museums since old inscriptions on the verso refer to a painter named Bernard in 1780.

1. P. Rosenberg, C.B. Bailey, « Not Greuze, but d'Agesci », in The Burlington Magazine, avril 2001, pp. 205, fig. 8.
2. Catalogue des Tableaux des Trois Ecoles ... du Cabinet de feu M. le Marquis de Véri, Hôtel de Bullion, Paris, 12 décembre 1785, n°74 « Une autre femme représentée de face, la gorge découverte et la tête renversée sur un coussin cramoisi ; elle a le bras gauche appuyé sur un autre coussin, et de la main droite elle tient un livre intitulé Héloïse ».