MARGUERITE GÉRARD | The studio of the artist

Anonymous sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 30 April 1928, lot 66;
Sale Denise Boas, Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Me Ader, 9 June 1937, lot 61 (sold for 4.400 francs);
Anonymous sale, Paris, Palais d'Orsay, Mes Ader, Picard & Tajan, 28 November 1978, lot 38 (as 'La séance de pose');
Private collection, Paris.

S. Wells-Robertson, Marguerite Gérard, Ph.D. New York University 1978, p. 886, no. 103;
C. Blumenfeld, Marguerite Gérard 1761-1837, Paris 2018, pp. 167 (reproduced in colour), and 237, no. 272 P.

Les couleurs du tableau sont assez fidèles à l’illustration au catalogue. Le tableau se présente dans un état de conservation satisfaisant. A l’œil nu : Le tableau a fait l’objet d’un rentoilage. Le châssis est ancien et porte une étiquette. Le vernis semble être passé au travers dans la partie inférieure. La toile est parcourue d’un réseau important de craquelures dont certaines ont été reprises. Une restauration s’observe dans le col noir de l'homme portant un manteau. La signature semble bien conservée. A la lampe UV : On voit des restaurations autour du personnage tout à gauche, ainsi que dans le fond du côté gauche. De plus petites peuvent être observées autour du tapis rouge, et sous un des pieds en-dessous de la table. En outre, quelques craquelures ont été reprises, comme indiqué ci-dessus. Vendu avec un cadre en bois doré (bon état de conservation). The actual painting seems to be quite faithful in tonal tones to the catalogue illustration. The painting seems to be in a fair condition. To the naked eye : The painting has been relined. The stretcher is old and bears a label. The varnish somewhat seems to permeate the paint surface in the lower area. The paint layer has quite a visible craquelure pattern, some of which has been strengthened. A retouching can be seen in the black collar of the man with the coat. The signature seems to be nicely preserved. Under the UV light: We can observe some retouchings around the figure on the left, as well as some in the left area. Some minor retouchings can be observed around the red carpet and on one of the table foot. Also, some craquelures have been strengthened (see above). Sold with a giltwood frame (good condition).
"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."

Newly resurfaced on the market these two paintings (see also lot 50) by Marguerite Gérard are both marvellous examples of the type of painting which made her famous. Her contemporaries appreciated this genre of interior scenes for the relaxed intimacy and the subtlety of her compositions. Trained in the studio of her brother-in-law, the celebrated painter Jean-Honoré Fragonard (1732-1806), she rapidly developed her own style, inspired by the Dutch painters Gabriel Metsu (1629-1667) and Gerard ter Borch (1617-1681), whose sense of detail she admired.

In The studio of the artist, several individuals attend to their own occupations around a painter at work on the portrait of a beautiful young woman. With her hair arranged in a high chignon held back by a wreath of flowers, the young woman, clad in a sumptuous dress of white and gold satin, holds what appears to be a mandolin in her left hand, a motif already found in other works by Gérard inspired by Dutch painting. She leans on a table covered with a red carpet, also evoking the bourgeois interiors of 17^th-century Holland. The model observes a lady across from her, dressed in grey taffeta, who holds a portfolio under her arm. Another figure is dressed more warmly in a coat, signifying that he has just arrived. Marguerite Gérard has depicted a studio scene in which artists come and go, bustling about while watching their fellow artist, wearing an artistic red toque, in action.

This theme had already been treated a decade before, in a slightly simpler composition reduced to two figures. There is a second, somewhat smaller version of our painting (fig.1). Both differ notably in the changes of the lady musician's hairstyle. [1] Marguerite Gérard, Artiste peignant le portrait d'une musicienne, ca. 1803, oil on canvas, 61 x 51.5 cm, St-Petersburg, Hermitage Museum



The painting will appear in the catalogue raisonné of the artist by Carole Blumenfeld to be published in the coming months (see Literature).