Two nymphs in a woodland bower

Details

CIRCLE OF FRANÇOIS BOUCHER (PARIS 1703-1770)
Two nymphs in a woodland bower
oil on canvas
31 ½ x 51 in. (80 x 129.5 cm.)

Provenance

W.C. McDonald; and by whom anonymously sold, Christie's, London, 18 July 1947, lot 76, as Boucher (260 gns. to Smith).
Anonymous sale; [The Property of a Gentleman], Christie's, London, 26 November 1976, lot 90, as Studio of Boucher.
Anonymous sale; Christie's, Amsterdam, 7 September 1983, lot 331, as Studio of Boucher.
Private collection, USA.
Anonymous sale; [From a Southern Collection], Christie's, New York, 2 June 1988, lot 110, where acquired by the present owner.

Literature

(Possibly) A. Ananoff, François Boucher, 1976, I, p. 400, under no. 290(e), either copy b or d.

Conditions of sale

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Lot Essay

The prime version of the present painting was executed by Boucher in 1745 as part of a set of five works commissioned by Madame de Pompadour - mistress, friend and advisor to the French king, Louis XV - that became part of the decorative scheme in the château de Bellevue. The other works in the series were The Love Letter (which differed in size and shape to the other four), Flora, Bacchantes, and Pomona. The artist of the present version has chosen to extend Boucher's original composition, which was likely conceived as an overdoor and was shaped to fit with the paneling of the room, into this more conventional rectangular format.

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