Two ladies in elegant costume: Study for 'The Harpsichord Lesson'

Details

Jean-Michel Moreau, called Moreau le Jeune (Paris 1741-1814)
Two ladies in elegant costume: Study for 'The Harpsichord Lesson'
graphite, red and white chalks on light brown paper
12¼ x 9¾ in. (31 x 24.8 cm.)

Provenance

Sir Charles Greville (L. 549); by whom bequeathed, circa 1820, to
The Earl of Warwick (L. 2600); Christie's, London, 20-21 May 1896, lot 244, as 'Olivier (Michel Barthelemy)' (£35 to C. Davis).
Lady Juliet Duff; from whom acquired by the present owner.

Special notice

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Clemency Henty

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Lot Essay

A preparatory drawing in the same direction for one of Moreau's illustrations, engraved by N. de Launay, for Rousseau's 1761 epistolary novel Julie, ou la nouvelle Heloïse (M.-J.-F. Mahérault, L'Oeuvre de Moreau le Jeune, Paris, 1880, p. 262, no. X). This study focuses on the principal figures of Julie and Claire, placed facing alternately towards and away from the picture plane, so that their elegant costumes can be more fully admired. In the finished engraving, representing 'The Harpsichord Lesson', the figure of the amorous Saint-Preux, playing a clavichord, has been added on the right.

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