Studio of Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée, French 1725-1805- The Education of the...

Studio of Louis-Jean-François Lagrenée, French 1725-1805- The Education of the Virgin; oil on canvas, 41x32.5cm Provenance: Anthony Barbieri, London, 12th June 1971. Note: The original canvas and paint surface of the present work supports a date from the second half of 18th Century, not long after the original version, on copper, was executed for Mme. Geoffrin in 1773, when Lagrenée was Professor-rector of the Academie royale de peinture et de sculpture in Paris. This fully attributed version is listed in Lagrenée's manuscript; Recueil de sujets, and was exhibited at the Salon in 1773. It is likely that this original was auctioned by Villanfray & Associés at Drouot on 30th March 2009, lot 15 and at Sotheby's Monaco, 20th June 1987, lot 401. When comparing the fully attributed painting and the present work on offer it appears to be a faithful and competent copy, with many of the features being consistent with an attribution to Lagrenée's studio. We are grateful to Alastair Laing and Jamie Mulherron for confirming the attribution of this lot based on images provided.