Jean-Baptiste Greuze

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting has an old thin glue lining. The texture is good and the paint layer is stable. There is a slight bump in the canvas in the lower right. The brushy paint layer is very well preserved, particularly in the face. Small passages of old varnish are visible under ultraviolet light, and there are only tiny retouches along the extreme bottom edge in the lower right. The work should be hung as is.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

According to Edgar Munhall, this charming portrayal of a slumbering boy is a preliminary study by Jean-Baptiste Greuze for the child in the lower right corner of Silence!, a painting exhibited at the Salon of 1759 (now in the British Royal Collection).¹  The present work also relates to two chalk studies that Greuze completed for Silence!: one is in the State Hermitage Museum, Saint Petersburg and another signed and dated 1759 is in a French private collection.²  

Dr. Munhall's letter of expertise accompanies the present lot. 

1. See C. Bailey, P. Conisbee, and T. Gaehtgens, The Age of Watteau, Chardin, and Fragonard, exhibition catalogue, New Haven 2003, pp. 258-259, cat. no. 69, reproduced.
2. See E. Munhall, Greuze the Draftsman, London 2002, pp. 56-57, reproduced cat. no. 8 and fig. 45.