NOËL HALLÉ | A mother with her child asleep on her lap in an interior

Raphael Garreta, Rouen, 1905;
Sold in Rouen, circa 1930, to a private collector. 

N. Willk-Brocard, Une dynastie Les Hallé, Paris 1995, cat. no. N 24a, p. 369. 

The painting is unlined and in very good condition. The colors are preserved beautifully and the paint is still think in many areas, particularly the whites and yellows. Faint creases from the original stretcher are visible across the center and along the top of the canvas, but they are not distracting. There are minimal retouchings which fluoresce under ultra violet light, mostly in the background and a few along the stretcher bar mark in the center. The painting has been cleaned and should be hung as is. Offered in a giltwood frame.
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.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The composition of this painting is based on an earlier work by Hallé of the Holy Family, now in the State Hermitage Museum (inv. no. ГЭ-5466); in that work, which is shaped in an oval, the figure of Joseph is crouched over sleeping Christ, holding Christ's left hand.¹  In the present work, the Madonna and Child are on their own in a kitchen interior, the child's hands folded together as he rests sweetly on his mother's chest.  The location of the prime version of this painting (and its pendant, featuring an old man seated at a desk) is currently unknown, though the composition was made famous through a print (in reverse) by Jean-Augustin Patour, published in Le Mercure de France in July 1766.²


1. See N. Willk-Brocard, under Literature, p. 360, cat. no. N 10. 
2. Ibid., p. 368-9, cat. nos. N 24 and N 25.