ATTRIBUTED TO JEAN-BAPTISTE GREUZE | Self-portrait

With Otto Mündler (1811-1870) and Emmanuel Sano (d. 1878), Paris (as Jean-Baptiste Greuze);
Their sale, Paris, Bonnefons de Lavialle, March 14, 1853, lot 77 (Portrait de l'artiste, pastel) for 790 francs (as Greuze);
With Cornette de Saint-Cyr, Paris, by April 1973;
Anonymous sale, New York, Sotheby's, 31 January 2013, lot 80 (as Greuze).

Paris, Salle Bonne-Nouvelle, L'Exposition des Artistes, 1847 (as cited in the 1853 auction catalogue).

J. Martin and C. Masson, "Catalogue raisonné de l'oeuvre peint et dessiné de Jean-Baptiste Greuze," in C. Mauclair, Jean-Baptiste Greuze, Paris 1906, p. 71, no. 1146 (as Greuze);
N. Jeffares, "Jean-Baptiste Greuze", Dictionary of pastellists before 1800, London, 2006; online edition [http://www.pastellists.com/articles/greuze.pdf], update 27 February 2018, cat. no. J.361.4 (as a copy after Greuze). 

The following condition report was provided by Marjorie Shelley, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. The portrait is in very good condition. The colors are vibrant and show no evidence of fading or color alteration. Extremely minor surface dirt is present on the tip of the nose and at the hairline above the forehead. The highlight at the right side of the mouth reads well, however, on close inspection the hardness of the left edge suggests that it may be a correction. Minor horizontal scratches are present at the bottom of the cravat and there is slight rubbing along the lower edge of the garment. Slightly discernible marks from rubbing or fingers are present in the dark brown background at the upper right. The portrait is set within a fictive oval on a rectangular sheet of paper and each of the four spandrels is in compromised condition. Pastel appears to have been initially applied to each corner, however these sites have been deeply abraded and subsequently inpainted in watercolor and dark pastel over the abrasions. Based on the configuration of the abrasions it appears that they occurred as a result of an attempt to alter or pare down the paper at these sites; perhaps to fit into an oval frame. (The frame was not seen by this conservator.) Both the lower right and lower left margins have seen abraded by contact with the frame rabbet. The primary support is made of toned laid paper. Its color is obscured by the overall covering of pastel. The edges of the sheet are very brittle and worn and have sustained a few small tears (at the center of the right edge in the shape of a triangle; a tear at the upper right edge in the spandrel; a loss at the upper left corner), The support has been mounted around its edges on the verso to off-white paper, which appears to have been part of the original mounting of the pastel as double paper layers were commonly found in pastels of this era. The sheet of millboard which is presently behind the composition is not original to it, as this mounting format was not used in the eighteenth century and the millboard is slightly smaller than the work of art. The composition is hinged along its lower edge to the lower edge of the millboard. This is precarious as the support could slump downward in its frame and the sheet could be easily torn. Recommendations The compromised condition of the spandrels cannot be successfully conserved, thus overmatting the corners and mounting the composition an oval frame is a reasonable solution to this problem. It is recommended that the white backing paper to which the primary support is adhered remain in place to provide a means of support. The tears along the edges should be repaired; the triangular tear on the right will require a small amount of inpainting. The surface dirt on the face is minor. It is not recommended that it be removed as this could damage the underlying powdery pastel. The composition should be entirely removed from the millboard backing, and hinged around the edges to a 100% ragboard support; at the least it should be hinged at the top to ragboard. Ragboard should be used as a barrier between the composition and the frame if the spandrels are covered. Ultraviolet filtering laminated glass is recommended for framing . Reduced light levels are necessary to preserve the colors and prevent embrittlement of the paper. Environmental levels should be maintained at 68-72F temperature and 50% relative humidity. Any transport should be carried out with the work of art in a horizontal face-up position and all vibrations should be avoided.
"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."

This touching self-portrait reveals the artist's remarkable skills as a pastellist and also provides us with new insights into his creative process.  Greuze was in his late 50s when he conceived of this portrait of himself.  It was a difficult period for him personally, because his notoriously difficult marriage was finally coming apart, but at the same time he was painting some of his most important genre pictures. In these he created scenes from contemporary life that combined an unblinkered view of the world around him with a style derived from the grand manner of the traditional historical painter.  His penetrating insight into his subjects' motivation and personality is also evident in the portraits and self-portraits of which he made many at this time.  In the present work Greuze draws himself in bust-length, turned three-quarters to the right and directly engaging the viewer.  His hair is powdered and dressed in the "pigeon wing" style, which he wore throughout his life. He is wearing an elegant coat and waistcoat and around his neck is a loosely tied white jabot. The four corners of the composition are brushed over in watercolor to give the portrait an oval format.  Greuze's mastery of the difficult medium of pastel is clearly evident here.  He draws the hair in smooth grey pastel laid over rough lines of black chalk and then capped with short commas of white.  In order to create a healthy rosy complexion, he blends the flesh more smoothly while still allowing the delicate blue veins to appear at the temples.  His treatment of the eyes is extraordinary - they gleam with liquid despite the dryness of the pastel medium itself – and he sets them off with  little flecks of white along the edges of the lower lids while around them he sketches the eyelashes in bold dashes of brown.

This pastel is clearly related to Greuze's Self-portrait in the Museé du Louvre, Paris, and a recently discovered sketch in oil on canvas with Derek Johns, London (fig. 1).  Both are oval in format and show Greuze in a longer, half-length view, so that the curling lower end of the jabot, which he has tucked loosely into his waistcoat, is visible below.  Edgar Munhall, who examined the pastel firsthand before the 2013 sale (see provenance), believed that the oil sketch is Greuze's first idea for the composition, as it contains all the elements of the Louvre picture, and that this pastel is a repetition he made in order to narrow his focus and concentrate on the face and character of the sitter (in this case himself).¹ This deliberate process is unusual for Greuze, for there are very few preliminary drawings for any of his portraits, and suggests he was very concerned with just how he was to present himself to the public.  Munhall dated the pastel prior to 1785, the year he had originally suggested for the Louvre portrait, because of the existence of a pendant portrait of Greuze's wife, which was also included in the auction of the Mündler and Sano collection.² As Greuze was already separated from his wife by 1785 it is highly unlikely he would be making a portrait of her at that date. 

Perhaps because he was working on this composition as he was struggling with the idea of separation from his wife, and the dire financial consequences that would bring, he took particular trouble with it.  He shows himself as rather younger than his nearly sixty years, and though some weariness is evident in the delicate flesh around his eyes, he remains a vigorous and formidable figure.  His mouth is firm, chin tilted up slightly, so that he seems to look slightly down on us, both literally and figuratively.  As Munhall vividly writes, Greuze is "miraculously conveying the impression of pride, sensitivity and intelligence."³  It is a statement about himself as both a man and an artist, which he carried with him throughout his life. 

Edgar Munhall, after studying the present work firsthand in 2012, believed it to be an autograph pastel by the artist.  A copy of his report, upon which the above entry is based, is available upon request.  More recently, Neil Jeffares has inspected the work firsthand and believes that it is by a follower of Greuze, after the self-portrait in the Louvre.  



1.  E. Munhall, written communication, October 2012.
2.  See Provenance.  The pendant was lot 78 and the pair brought 790 francs, which was the second highest price of the entire auction. 
3.  E. Munhall, ibid.