Jean Siméon Chardin (1699-1779) (after) - Lot 33

Jean Siméon Chardin (1699-1779) (after) The Governess. 1739. Engraved by Lépicié. 265x370mm. Bocher 24. Very fine proof on laid paper, carefully washed, with a skilfully restored fracture in the center verso. Framer's inscriptions in pencil at foot on verso (fixed by cleaning). Small margins. The original painting was exhibited at the Louvre in 1739, under the same title. It is now in the National Gallery of Canada, Ottawa. The Mercure de France wrote in September 1739: "If we were to report here all the praise that has been given to the works of this attractive painter, this article would occupy more space than any other. Le jeune écolier grondé par sa Gouvernante, pour avoir sali son chapeau, is the piece that has attracted the most acclaim." (Quoted in Pierre Rosenberg, Chardin 1699-1779, exhibition cat., Paris, Grand Palais, RMN, 1979, p.262).