T his delightful oil study sketch by Jean Siméon Chardin is so much more than a preparatory work. It preserves the spirit of the final work while revealing details no longer visible, and offers a special glimpse into the earliest and most immediate form of one of his most celebrated compositions, 'The Kitchen Maid'.
This luminous piece, alongside an exceptional group of works from the late 15th to the early 20th century, is on offer as part of the Tableaux 1400-1900 auction taking place at Sotheby's Paris on 11 June.
