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Lot Essay
The present work is considered by Grunchec, Eitner and Bazin (op. cit.) to be a partial copy of a painting by Pagnest, Géricault's fellow pupil in the studio of Pierre Narcisse Guérin. Pagnest's painting won him the Academic prize for torso painting in 1813.
At least five variants of the present composition are known, all of which have at some time been attributed to Géricault. Of three of these, Eitner explains 'Each of the three paintings represents the model from a slightly different view; there can be no doubt that they were painted during the same session by three different hands standing fairly close together. Each one is of a style that is generally associated with Géricault's early studies of the nude. All three might well have been attributed to Géricault (a partial copy after the study by Pagnest [the present painting], in an American collection, actually has been attributed to Géricault). But in this instance the accident of the demonstrable identity of the model, pose, illumination, and accessories, happily proves that at best only one of the pictures has any chance of being by Géricault. The ratio of three to one probably expresses the true relationship in numbers between the many deceptively Géricault-like studies and the few authentic ones (op. cit.)
At least five variants of the present composition are known, all of which have at some time been attributed to Géricault. Of three of these, Eitner explains 'Each of the three paintings represents the model from a slightly different view; there can be no doubt that they were painted during the same session by three different hands standing fairly close together. Each one is of a style that is generally associated with Géricault's early studies of the nude. All three might well have been attributed to Géricault (a partial copy after the study by Pagnest [the present painting], in an American collection, actually has been attributed to Géricault). But in this instance the accident of the demonstrable identity of the model, pose, illumination, and accessories, happily proves that at best only one of the pictures has any chance of being by Géricault. The ratio of three to one probably expresses the true relationship in numbers between the many deceptively Géricault-like studies and the few authentic ones (op. cit.)