Jules Breton

The artist's studio;

Sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, 2-3 June 1911, lot 147 (as La Ravaudeuse);

Where acquired by 'Mersheim;'

Muriel S. and Noah L. Butkin Collection (by 1978);

Private collection.

We are grateful to Marie-Isabelle Pinet-Netter and Annette Bourrut Lacouture for confirming the authenticity of this lot based on images.

Breton realized this spirited oil study in preparing Le Dernier Rayon, a painting he exhibited at the 1885 Salon. The final composition is set in Courrières, the artist’s beloved hometown. In the final composition, the young woman seated here is in front of a spinning wheel, absent from the present study, which instead features a basket to her right. A soft light illuminates her proper right sleeve, the base of her neck loosely gathered blond hair, and a sliver of her face, turned, as it is here, in the final composition towards the child running presumably to his parents after a day in the field. Scenes of rural life held an important place in Breton’s oeuvre: throughout his life, he depicted bucolic landscapes and the daily life of agricultural laborers with tender attention.