Georges Bottini

Probably anonymous sale, M^e André Couturier, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 12 February 1920, lot 5 (as per a label on the reverse);

Anonymous sale, M^es Laurin-Guilloux-Buffetayd-Tailleur, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 10 December 1981, lot 9;

Where acquired by Mlle J.;

Thence by descent to the present owner.

This Woman leaning on a counter is typical of Georges Bottini’s distinctive works. Known as ‘the Goya of Montmartre’, Bottini trained with Fernand Cormon (1845–1924) in whose studio he got to know Toulouse-Lautrec and met Louis Anquetin, who became a friend, sharing his interests in Japanism, Divisionism and Cloisonnism.

A lover of Montmartre nightlife, especially in the cabarets, he enjoyed depicting both patrons and performers. This elegant portrait, executed with the great technical freedom that characterizes his style, is a valuable record of fin-de-siècle Parisian life.