Adapted and augmented from the 2006 Christie's lot essay:
As John Collins observed in his thorough study of the present painting, the work owes much "to the portrayals of intrigues among the fashionable bourgeoisie by the earlier generation of French artists, such as de Troy, Watteau, and Boucher. But rather than being regressive in outlook, Trinquesse's painting anticipates the highly polished 'Metsu Manner' of the genre scenes of Marguerite Gérard and Louis-Léopold Boilly". This intimate grouping of figures in a woman's boudoir draws attention to the presence of the male visitor who might represent a husband or fiancé, but who more likely appears to be, as Collins suggested in the Ottawa exhibition catalogue, a client being entertained by a courtesan at her morning toilette and in the presence of her maid. She listens to his entreaties while undertaking the intricate task of removing pins from a cushion and using them to secure her elaborate headdress.
Other than the rather démodé wall coverings, the furnishings in the apartment are very up to date, the height of the newly stylish neoclassicism. Of particular note is the athénienne or brûle-parfum - a freestanding incense burner - seen in the right foreground. Apparently, Trinquesse's depiction referenced a popular model, as a very similar athénienne, dated 1775, was auctioned at Sotheby's in 2016. Likewise, a pair that closely resembles this, and which is believed to have at one time been in the possession of the comtesse du Barry, is in the collection of the musée Nissim de Camondo.
From the Sotheby's auction of 30 June 2016, Paris, Lot 112. |
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