Émile Munier

With J.J. Gillespie & Co., Pittsburgh;

Acquired from the above by a private collector, circa 1930;

By whom anonymously sold, New York, Sotheby's, 1 February 2019, lot 511;

Where acquired.

Émile Munier's early artistic training was intended to prepare him for work as an upholsterer, following in the footsteps of his father who designed for the Manufacture nationale des Gobelins, the renowned tapestry markers in Paris. Munier however, just like his three brothers, was a talented draughtsman and followed Abel-Francois Lucas' drawing classes where one of his student studies, based on a painting by Boucher, was complimented for his expressivness. Munier would later marry Lucas' daughter Henriette.

During the 1860s he received three medals at the Beaux-Arts, and by 1869, the young artist regularly exhibited at the Paris Salon and in 1872 entered William Bouguereau's studio where he soon gained a reputation as one of his most talented students. Bouguereau's preferred subject matter- young women and sweet girls, would inspire the young Munier and have a strong influence on his own work. This is no different for the present lot.

This work is included in the online Émile Munier catalogue raisonné by Rehs Galleries, Inc., www.emilemunier.org.