A group of six canvases with scenes from everyday life

The present six canvases repeat passages, in reverse, from four celebrated paintings by Lancret. Four canvases from the present group draw upon the artist's series of the Four Ages of Man, which are now in the collection of the National Gallery, London. The first canvas represents Childhood, and depicts children at play beneath a loggia, pulling a girl on a toy cart. The second and third canvases are drawn from Lancret's representation of Maturity (Youth is not included in the present series). Archers take aim at an unseen target while couples pursue amorous encounters. The fourth canvas is drawn from Old Age, in which an elderly man makes advances toward a young, beautiful lady in vain. The final two canvases repeat scenes from Lancret's Le Jeu des Quatre Coins in the Statens Museum for Kunst, Copenhagen. Nicolas Lancret's works were immensely popular in his lifetime and it is likely that the present canvases were painted after engravings.