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Lot Essay
Portraitiste spécialiste du pastel et peintre de Marie-Antoinette, Ducreux réalise plusieurs autres portraits de jeunes enfants avec cet aspect inachevé autour du visage qui laisse le papier en réserve et renforce cette impression de spontanéité qui se dégage de l’oeuvre. L’un des plus significatif est sans doute le Portrait de Louis XVIII enfant esquissant un sourire (collection particulière ; L. Prat, Le Dessin français au XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 2017, p. 242) où les détails de la physionomie du visage contrastent habillement avec le col de sa chemise et le buste à peine évoqué. Un autre Jeune garçon esquissé sur le même papier brun foncé et de format ovale également est conservé au Virginia Museum of Fine Arts de Richmond (inv. 65.38.4 ; Jeffares, op. cit., no J.285.769).
A pastel portraitist and painter of Marie-Antoinette, Ducreux produced several portraits of children which were left unfinished around the face, adding to the feeling spontaneity which emanates from his work. One of the more significant drawings is without doubt the Portrait de Louis XVIII pictured as a child showing a hint of a smile, his facial features contrasting with the collar of his shirt and the bust which is barely depicted (private collection; see L.-A. Prat, Le Dessin français au XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 2017, p. 242). A similar portrait by the artist of a young boy drawn on dark brown paper also in an oval format is at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond (inv. 65.38.4; see Jeffares, op. cit., no. J.285.769).
A pastel portraitist and painter of Marie-Antoinette, Ducreux produced several portraits of children which were left unfinished around the face, adding to the feeling spontaneity which emanates from his work. One of the more significant drawings is without doubt the Portrait de Louis XVIII pictured as a child showing a hint of a smile, his facial features contrasting with the collar of his shirt and the bust which is barely depicted (private collection; see L.-A. Prat, Le Dessin français au XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 2017, p. 242). A similar portrait by the artist of a young boy drawn on dark brown paper also in an oval format is at the Virginia Museum of Fine Arts in Richmond (inv. 65.38.4; see Jeffares, op. cit., no. J.285.769).