Jan Frans Verhas, (Belgian, 1834-1896)

Study of Louise Ponselet, lying on a sofa

Study of Louise Ponselet, lying on a sofa
signed with initials and dated 'J. V. 78' (lower right); signed and dated 'Jan Verhas/1878' (upper right, on the reverse); indistinctly inscribed 'Louise Ponselet' (upper left, on the reverse)
oil with traces of pencil on panel
18.3 x 26.3cm (7 3/16 x 10 3/8in).

Provenance
Louise Ponselet Collection, Belgium.
Thence by descent.

The young girl depicted, Louise Ponselet, was the niece of the artist and the grandmother of the present owner. Louise later married Paul Saintenoy, Belgian architect, teacher, historian and writer. He played an instrumental role in the reconstruction of Belgium following the war.

Verhas also depicted Louise in his large work of 1880, La revue des écoles en 1878, currently in Musées Royaux des Beaux-Arts de Belgique. Louise is the eighth child from the left. Many of the other children can be identified as daughters of prominent personalities. At the time, the painting served to bolster patriotism and reassure the nation of Belgian future prosperity.

The present lot is an intimate depiction of Louise, her limbs flung in careless abandon, and perhaps the tell-tale sign of sleep in the rosiness of her cheek.