Attributed to Maurice-Quentin de la Tour

Purchased in the area of St. Quentin by Marius Paulme for Georges Dormeuil, in 1896,
thence by descent to the present owners

Paris, Galerie George Petit, Exposition de Cent Pastels du XVIII^e siècle, 1908, no. 34 (as Maurice Quentin de la Tour);
Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Exposition de Pastels français du XVII^e et XVIII^e siècles, 1927, no. 32 (as Maurice Quentin de la Tour);
Versailles, Musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, Le voleur d'âmes, Maurice Quentin de la Tour, 2004, no. 18 (as Maurice Quentin de la Tour)

E. Dacier and P. Ratouis de Limay, Pastels Français des XVII^e et XVIII^e Siècles, Paris 1927, p. 56, no. 35, pl. XXV (commemorative catalogue of the exhibition, with different numbering; as Maurice Quentin de la Tour);
A. Besnard and G. Wildenstein, La Tour, la vie et l'oeuvre de l'artiste, Paris 1928, pp. 140-141, no. 123, pl. XXXVIII, fig. 57 (as Maurice Quentin de la Tour);
C. Debrie and X. Salmon, Maurice Quentin de La Tour, prince des pastellistes, Paris 2000, pp. 207, 209, 211, 218, fig. 125 (as Maurice Quentin de la Tour);
N. Jeffares, Dictionary of pastellists before 1800, London 2006, p. 288 (as a copy after as Maurice Quentin de la Tour)

Please note that this pastel has not been viewed out of its frame. Overall in good condition with colours remaining strong and vibrant. There are some minor losses to the medium around the edges. There is a faint horizontal rigde that runs across the sheet, located underneath the sitter's chin. Otherwise condition is good.
"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. Prospective buyers should also refer to any Important Notices regarding this sale, which are printed in the Sale Catalogue.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF BUSINESS PRINTED IN THE SALE CATALOGUE."

Claude Dupouch (circa 1686-1747) was a painter and a professor at the French Academy of St. Luke, who was traditionally considered to have been La Tour's master in the art of drawing.  Whether or not this was actually the case, La Tour's portrait of Dupouch is unquestionably one of his finest. 

The artist presented a portrait of this sitter at the Salon of 1739, but it is not clear which of the four known versions was the one that was actually exhibited.  Xavier Salmon considers that the version to be found with the great group of La Tour pastels in the Musée Antoine-Lécuyer, Saint-Quentin, is unquestionably the most accomplished of the four¹, although that in the National Gallery of Art, Washington, is arguably at least as fine.²  The two others, namely the present work and another in a private collection, were also always considered autograph versions, and were indeed exhibited side by side as such at Versailles in 2004.  More recently, though, it has been suggested that certain aspects of the handling and technique in the present work are not entirely characteristic of La Tour.  All the same, the materials used are totally typical of the artist's studio, and it is very clear that La Tour did himself make multiple versions of his most important portraits, this one included.  In the absence of any documentary proof clarifying the matter, it is not possible to be entirely certain which of these versions are autograph, and which, if any, are studio repetitions, but in any case this is a splendid portrait of a very important figure in the life of the artist, which also has an outstanding provenance. 

When it was acquired by Georges Dormeuil in 1896, this pastel was accompanied by a version of a famous self-portrait by La Tour, which later passed through a number of illustrious French collections, and was recently sold.³  Georges Dormeuil's notes record that when both pastels were opened the following year, in order to replace the glass, a label was found fixed to the back of the present work, on which was inscribed, in the hand of La Tour's brother, "Dupouche, peintre / Maître de mon frère".   When the Saint-Quentin version of the pastel was reframed in 1797 an almost identical label was also revealed, indicating that both works were at some point together in the possession of the artist's brother, presumably after la Tour's death.

1.  Le voleur d'âmes, exhib. cat., 2004, op. cit., p. 105
2.  M. Morgan Grasselli, Renaissance to Revolution, French Drawings from the National Gallery of Art, 1500-1800, exhib. cat., Washington, D.C., National Gallery of Art, 2009-10, no. 59
3.  N. Jeffares, op. cit., online edition, Maurice Quentin de La Tour, p. 3 (as copy); sold, Paris, Libert, 5 December 2008, lot 9 (as Attributed to Maurice Quentin de La Tour)