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FRANÇOIS BOUCHER

Paris 1703-1770 Paris

Study of the Head of a Young Man

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Category:France

size: 178 x 209 mm, 7 x 8 ¼ in.

technique: Black chalk, red chalk, white chalk, stumping

provenance: François Renaud (L. 1042) Laid down on an eighteenth century mount, quite probably made by François Renaud.

Description
Additional information

Description

The present Study of the Head of a Young Man is preparatory for the figure of the gardener in Boucher’s painting Le panier mystérieux in the National Gallery of Victoria, Melbourne. The lighting, the inclination of the youth’s head, and the position of his shirt are nearly identical in the two works. The painting is dated 1748 and the drawing is likely to have been created at this time. Boucher’s painting was a great success. It was exhibited at the salons of 1748 and 1750 and it inspired multiple versions of the subject by Boucher and his followers in paintings, tapestries, and prints. Alexandre Ananoff mentions three other known preparatory drawings for the painting: an other study for the head of the gardener and two studies for the sleeping girl.

Additional information

size:	178 x 209 mm, 7 x 8 ¼ in.
technique:	Black chalk, red chalk, white chalk, stumping
provenance:	François Renaud (L. 1042) Laid down on an eighteenth century mount, quite probably made by François Renaud.