JULES-ARSÈNE GARNIER | Le droit du seigneur

Sale: Laurin Guilloux Buffetaud Tailleur, Paris, November 4, 1980, lot 173
Sale: Sotheby's, New York, October 24, 1989, lot 222, illustrated
Acquired at the above sale

Paris, Salon des Artistes Français, 1872, no. 669 

"À Travers le Salon," La Revue Politique et Littéraire, Paris, May 25, 1872, no. 48, p. 1140
Jules Claretie, "L'Art Français en 1872: Revue du Salon," Peintres et Sculpteurs Contemporains, Paris, 1874, deuxième édition, p. 315
Eugène Montrosier, "Jules Garnier," Les Artistes Modernes, Première Partie: Les Peintres de Genre, Paris, 1881, vol. I, p. 38
Louis B. Binsse, "A Mythical Feudal Right," The Catholic World, A Monthly Magazine of General Literature and Science, New Jersey, July 1887, vol. XLV, p. 474
William S. Walsh, "Custom of the Country," Curiosities of Popular Customs and of Rites, Ceremonies, Observances, and Miscellaneous Antiquities, Philadelphia, 1887, p. 314

Examined in the frame. Lined. The surface presents well, aside from minor surface dirt and dust and scattered areas of faint, finely patterned craquelure in the sky and foreground. Under UV: heavy varnish fluoresces green. In the foreground there are a very few isolated small areas of retouching and some inpainting to address prior craquelure. There is a large 'Y' shaped area of inpainting (slightly visible to the naked eye) with two associated diagonal lines of inpainting at lower right. There are additional scattered areas of inpainting at center and lower right, including near the right edge to address prior frame abrasion. At center left there is an upside down 'C' shaped area of inpainting that extends from the figure with a pike, which has been slightly reinforced, and a horizontal line of inpainting extending from the man in the orange doublet. Additional small retouches at upper left.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.