A lady seated in profile to the right reading a book

Louis Aubert is today better known as a musician rather than a draughtsman. He was the son of the musician Jacques Aubert and a child prodigy. He became a violinist at the Opera at the age of eleven. His first picture La Leon de lecture dated 1740 is in Amiens (Paris, Galerie Heim, Hommage Chardin, 1959, no. 56, pl. 28). During his lifetime Aubert was influenced by, and confused with, Chardin. The Mercure de France in 1755 compared him to the famous pastellist when announcing two prints: 'Ces deux sujets [Le billet doux and La revendeuse la toilette] sont traits dans le got du clbre M. Chardin'. The Goncourt brothers owned a head by Aubert in the same technique as the present drawing, E. Launay, Les frres Goncourt collectionneurs de dessins, Paris, 1991, no. 3 (now lost). Further works are in the Albertina and at Chantilly, both of which were previously catalogued as Chardin.
Aubert probably stopped drawing and painting in 1750 to work full time as a musician. He was appointed to the Vingt-quatre violons du Roi in 1746. First violinist of the Opera in 1756, he later became one of its main conductors. He wrote sonatas, symphonies and trios.