Lot Essay
The figure of the sleeping young girl in this drawing appears in the oil painting La rêve II, 1956-1957 (ed. D. Bozo, Balthus, Paris, 1984 [Centre Georges Pompidou exhibition catalogue], p. 387, no. 166; coll. Maurice Rheims, Paris). This painting is in turn derived from Le fruit d'or, painted in 1956 (Ibid., no. 167; private collection). In the earlier version the figures are more stylized, and the sleeping visage of the young girl is turned upward to face the viewer. In its details, the study conforms closely to the paintings, including the patterning on the loveseat, the edge of the oriental rug that runs vertically along the left side of the composition, and the positioning of the table corner in the lower right part of the sheet. In both paintings a second female figure hovers over the sleeping girl, as if materialized from the latter's dreams. In Le fruits d'or the standing figure appears to offer a yellow fruit to the sleeper; in La rêve II she presents a yellow flower.
Virginnie Monnier will include this drawing in the Balthus catalogue raisonné to be published by Editions Gallimard, Paris.
Virginnie Monnier will include this drawing in the Balthus catalogue raisonné to be published by Editions Gallimard, Paris.