Two elegant couples in conversation

Stylistically the present drawing can be dated to the late 1730s, notable for the sharp accents in the application of the chalk. The position of the two figures at the left show similarities with the seated couple on the right of the painting La Ronde autour du Mai (D. Wildenstein, ‘Lancret: biographie et catalogue critiques’, L’Art Français, X, Paris, 1924, no. 193, ill. 43). A preparatory drawing for the female figure at the centre of the same canvas is in the Louvre (inv. no. 27542).

We are grateful to Mary Taverner Holmes for her help in preparing this catalogue entry, and for having confirmed the attribution on the basis of a digital photograph.