At the Ball

In this composition the artist paints himself alone on a fire stool in deep thought, oblivious to all the excitement around him. The throng of figures around the entrance of a large brightly lit room appear to be waiting some sort of decision - it may be that La Touche has submitted one of his paintings and awaits the decision of his peers. The subject is unusual for the artist as he had little regard for critics and committees and often parodied them in his Singeries - works where monkies assumed human form and were placed in topical situations.

We are grateful to Roy Brindley for preparing this catalogue entry.

Mr. Brindley will include this work in his forthcoming La Touche catalogue raisonné.