Lot n° 52
Estimation :
15000 - 20000
EUR
Result with fees
Result
: 19 200EUR
Louis-Léopold BOILLY ( La Bassée, 1761 - Paris, 1845 ) - Lot 52
Louis-Léopold BOILLY ( La Bassée, 1761 - Paris, 1845 )
Young girl grinding coffee, around 1797-1798
Original canvas
Signed lower left: "L. Boilly
40,4 x 32,7 cm
On the back, an old label "n° 13
Provenance:
- Sale [Saurin, Lengeac, Veltan, Lebrun, etc.], Paris (Baudoin), February 16-17, 1798, no. 76 (200 francs).
- Probably acquired by Nikolaus Reber-Passavant (1755-1821) for the Burckhardt family, Basel, then by descent, Theodora von der Muehl-Burckhardt (1895-1983).
- By inheritance to Mrs. von der Muehl.
- Sale von der Muehl and others, Sotheby's, London, December 9, 1981, n° 3 (15 400 livres).
- Paris, galerie Didier Aaron & Cie.
- Würzburg, Kunsthandel Heide Hübner, 1983.
- Klaus J. Jacobs (1936-2008).
Bibliography :
- C. Gabet, Dictionnaire des artistes de l'école française au XIXe siècle, Paris, 1831, p. 74 (under the title Femme assise près d'un poêle, occupée de son ménage).
- E. Breton, P. Zuber, Louis-Léopold Boilly 1761-1845, Le Peintre de la société parisienne de Louis XVI à Louis-Philippe, 2019, cat. 399 P.
Related works:
- L.-L. Boilly, The Cherished Dog (canvas, 41 x 32.5 cm), Current location unknown;
- L.-L. Boilly, Jeune fille occupée à moudre du café (pierre noire, estompe de pierre noire, rehaussé de gouache blanche sur papier brun, 48 x 39 cm), Paris, Musée du Louvre, inv. R.F. 54 740 ;
- L.-L. Boilly, La Repasseuse (oil on canvas, 40,7 x 32,4 cm), Boston, Museum of Fine Arts, inv. 1983.10 (same drape, same chair).
Attached: the lithograph of Le Chien chéri
Our painting is part of a set of interior scenes in kitchens and laundry rooms that Boilly painted between 1794 and 1804. This genre was very popular at the time with a wealthy clientele who appreciated the reassuring feeling it gave off. Although these works are in the tradition of Chardin's scenes of everyday life, they have an artificial character that is not found in this artist's work. The sophistication of the furniture, such as the precious wood table, contrasts with the humility of the other objects and the activity of the young woman. The critic said, on the occasion of the Salon of 1800, about The Cook could apply to our painting: "the painting [...] is extremely careful in its details and strong in its execution. The imitation of the still life objects is full of truth. The woman is represented with too much care and taste for her status" (Notices des ouvrages de peinture, de sculpture, d'architecture et de gravure exposés au Salon du musée central des arts, Paris, an VIII (1800), p. 16).
The Repasseuse (Boston, Museum of Fine Arts), sold with our painting as a pair in 1981 and of similar size, is traditionally recognized as its counterpart, but Étienne Bréton and Pascal Zuber (Louis-Léopold Boilly 1761-1845, Le peintre de la société parisienne de Louis XVI à Louis-Philippe, vol. II, 401 D and 402P, pp. 566-567) suggest that it is more likely to be the Chien chéri, a copy of which was sold in Zurich in 2008 (private collection). This hypothesis is supported by the fact that two drawings based on these paintings were sold together in 1798. These sheets, often considered preliminary studies for the paintings, despite their larger size, are now seen as later works, probably preparatory to the prints.
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