Attributed to Jean-Baptiste Greuze
(French, 1725-1805)

"Thais"

oil on canvas
unsigned, with remnants of two old 19th century labels en verso; one of which appears to be from Maison Souty (Antoine), before 1834 as "fils" is not listed after Souty.
Framed.
16-1/8" x 13", framed 22-1/4" x 18-3/4"

Provenance: Collection of Dr. and Mrs. John "Jack" Morgan Barron III, Memphis, Tennessee, owners of the Idlewild House, the former antique shop located in the historic Peabody Hotel in Memphis.

Literature: This painting has been examined firsthand by Dr. Yuriko Jackall, Greuze specialist and Curator of French Paintings at the Wallace Collection, who suggests that it was made in Greuze's studio, perhaps with his participation.

Notes: A genre and portrait painter of prodigious innate talent, Greuze was born into a proletarian family; his father was a roofer/tiler. At a young age, he was apprenticed to a successful Lyonnais portrait painter, Charles Grandon, who eventually took him to Paris. In Paris, Greuze was accepted into the prestigious Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, studying under the rococo master Charles Joseph Natoire. Greuze soon gained the support of Louis de Silvestre, then Director of the Academie. In 1755 he was named an associate member of the Academie through whose auspice Greuze travelled to Italy under the patronage of Abbe Louis Gougenot. Upon his return, Greuze's submissions to the Paris Salon were met with increasing admiration. The young artist, however, had a streak of stubbornness and a vanity that created tension between him and the Salon. One of the requirements for formal acceptance into the Salon was the submission of the "morceau de reception", a representative work of the artist which was used to evaluate his placement within the Academie. Greuze refused. Finally, in 1769, under threat of being blocked from exhibiting, he submitted "Septimus Severus and Caracalla"- his attempt at a grand historicizing scene. It was a resounding failure, and the judges declared Greuze a genre painter, then considered the "lowest" style. Furious, Greuze refused to take part in any future exhibitions, only showing his work in his studio; he did not exhibit at the Salon again until 1800. While this had a disastrous effect on his Academic reputation, art collectors were amused by his arrogance and patrons flocked to his studio, making Greuze one of the most sought-after genre and portrait painters.

One such favored genre and recurring subject in Greuze's work was the young penitent and/or the penitent Magdalene, in which young women with loose curls are depicted in prayer or in heavenly reflection with eyes gazing upward in contrition. This particular composition was painted at least three times by ca. 1779: Two compositions with slight variations in position, dress and color were offered at Christie's, Paris ( June 24, 2004, as lot 130), and by Rafael Valls in his London gallery in 2005. A third work nearly identical to this one here, but in oval form, was owned by the guillotined notary Charles Nicolas Duclos-Dufresnoy, who loaned it in 1785 for the commission of the Charles Levasseur engraving titled "Thais ou La Belle Penitente".

Yuriko Jackall, Curator of French Paintings at the Wallace Foundation, examined this work firsthand and believes it to definitely be the studio and quite possibly an attribution of Greuze, as she cannot rule out the assistance of the artist's hand. Alastair Laing, Curator of Pictures and Sculpture for the National Trust, following an examination of the painting by photographs, has expressed a strong hypothesis that not only is the work by the hand of the artist, an affirmative attribution, but it may also be identified as lot 21 in the posthumous sale of Duclos-Dufresnoy, August 18-21, 1795 that was sold alongside the Christie's painting (identified as lot 26), and was formerly and falsely identified as the Vall painting in 2005. Laing stipulates that the description and measurements match on all points, but two- the fichu (scarf) in the catalogue entry is described as white, not brown, and the measurements are slightly larger. The pre-Revolutionary pouce, generally recognized as 1.066 in., recorded lot 21 as lot 14 pouce by 11 pouce, 6 ligne (~.0888 in.) bringing the painting measurement to ~14.92 in. x 12.25 in. The new canvas and stretchers on which the painting is relined are slightly larger than the painting itself with the lining visible along the side edges and bottom edge that is painted over with a ruddy brown wash. The actual measurement of the painting is 15.125 in. x 12.25 in. Under UV light examination, the scarf has been heavily overpainted with brown pigment and blended into the hair. The repairs account for the two discrepancies in the Declos-Dufresnoy description, begging the question and further research inquiry: was this one of the many Greuze paintings owned by the executed royalist, was it lot 21 or an autograph replica as Greuze was known to repeat himself, as is evidenced with the Rafael Valls painting- a reduced version of the Christie's painting (Duclos-Dufresnoy, lot 26) and partner to the Thais offered here?

In overall good condition. Exhibits signs of professional restoration - the painting has been relined, and small inpainting is scattered throughout. The head and face (minus the edge of the left chin by hands)are remarkably intact. Notable inpainting is present to the scarf that wraps around the proper left shoulder; other inpainting is mostly allocated to touch-ups to the lower body (chest and left arm) and background. The new lining, slightly visible along the right side and bottom edges, has been painted with a near-matching umber brown wash.

22.25 x 18.75 in