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Dimensions: measurements 35 3/4 by 22 in. alternate measurements 90.8 by 55.9 cm
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Provenance: Possibly, M. Boussaton, December 14, 1887 (acquired directly from the artist)
Private Estate (and sold: Sotheby's, New York, October 28, 2003, lot 33, illustrated)
Acquired by the present owner at the above sale
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Literature: Bouguereau's account records, 1887
Mark Steven Walker, "A Summary Catalogue of the Paintings," William-Adolphe Bouguereau, L'Art Pompier, exh. cat., New York, 1991, p. 73
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Notes: We would like to thank Damien Bartoli for kindly contributing to this catalogue note. This painting will be included in the forthcoming Bouguereau catalogue raisonné being prepared by Damien Bartoli with the assistance of Fred Ross, the Bouguereau Committee, and the Art Renewal Center, www.artrenewal.org.
PROPERTY FROM AN AMERICAN COLLECTION
By 1885, William Bouguereau devoted more than one third of his output to chronicling French country life. The little girls and young women who constituted the shepherdesses, fisherwomen, knitters, and even beggars and gypsies, became consistent themes that Bouguereau treasured and repeated. The present composition belongs to a series of works painted during summers in Bouguereau's native La Rochelle where he vacationed. Le déjeuner du matin was most likely painted in either August or September 1887 and completed in October of the same year, after Bouguereau returned to his atelier. This two-step painting process was common practice for Bouguereau, and hardly any exceptions exist. Bouguereau completed and varnished his compositions known as "de vacances" upon returning to Paris. This image was greatly commercialized in various printed media by Braun & Clément, registered under the number 3019.
