FRANÇOIS-ANDRÉ VINCENT | Three figures seen from below, possibly a design for a ceiling

Anicet-Charles-Gabriel Lemonnier (1743-1824),
by descent to his son, Hippolyte Lemmonier (L.1330a),
by descent to his son, Henry Lemonnier;
with Hubert Duchemin, Paris 1997;
Private Collection, Colmar

J. P. Cuzin, François-André Vincent 1746-1816 Entre Fragonard et David, Paris 2013, p.419, no. 324 D, reproduced fig. 324 D

The subject of this intriguing sheet remains a mystery. Drawn with point of the brush and wash, the composition illustrates an angel in flight to the left, pulling the hair of a bearded man with some force, as the man reaches toward a basket, its contents unknown, that a young woman, lower right, is holding in her hand.  As Cuzin suggests, in his entry, this is likely to be a design for a ceiling; due to the figures' positions and the addition of the stone ledge as a trompe l'oeil device. Stylistically, whilst the Lemonnier provenance might suggest this was a work from his Roman years, Cuzin proposes that the drawing was most likely executed on Vincent's return from Rome and is probably preparatory for a decorative project commissioned in Paris.^{1 1.} J-P. Cuzin, op.cit., under no. 324 D