$35,550
Jean-Baptiste Greuze (French, 1725-1805) Portrait of a Young Man Unsigned, identified on a label affixed to the stretcher. Oil on canvas, 18 3/16 x 15 in. (46.3 x 38.0 cm), in a period frame. Condition: Lined, scattered retouch, craquelure. Provenance: Ex-collection Stanley Newbold Barbee, Los Angeles, purchased from Felix Goulêd, New York, November 11, 1937 (a copy of the receipt from Felix Goulêd accompanies the lot), then by descent to the present owner. N.B. The painting at hand has been examined in person by Dr. Edgar Munhall. It is his opinion that the Portrait of a Young Man was painted by Jean-Baptiste Greuze sometime around 1800. A copy of Dr. Munhall's written report, including comparable images, is available for inspection and will accompany the lot. Born in Tournus, Greuze moved to Paris in 1750, where he studied at the School of the Royal Academy and achieved success with genre painting. He was named an Associate member of the Academy in the category of genre painting in 1755. He received commissions from Mme. de Pompadour and was praised by Diderot for works that endowed art with morality. Like so many artists of the era, Greuze aspired to paint historical subjects, but did not find the reception for these that he had hoped. The refusal of the Academy to accept him as a history painter led him to withdraw from the Salon for thirty years. He continued successfully to paint portraits and figural works with great sensitivity and finesse. In his report, Dr.
Auctioneer:
Skinner
Date:
2012-02-03
