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Artist or Maker: WILLIAM BOUGUEREAU, French, 1825-1905
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Dimensions: 36 by 22 in.
91.5 by 55.9 cm
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Provenance: PROPERTY FROM A PRIVATE ESTATE
Very little provenance information exists regarding the present composition; however, we have nonetheless located a letter by Bouguereau, from a private collection, dated Wednesday November 23, 1887 to an unknown amateur, most likely, M. Boussaton, who was intent on purchasing a work from the master. Bouguereau indicated the availabilty of the only composition currently in his possession measuring 90 x 55 cm of a young girl eating breakfast.
According to Bouguereau's accounting books, the work was sold directly to M. Boussaton on December 14, 1887.
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Literature: Bouguereau's account records, 1887
M. Walker, "A Summary Catalogue of the Paintings," William-Adolphe Bouguereau L'Art Pompier, New York: Borghi & Company, 1991, p. 73
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Notes: By 1885, William Bouguereau devoted more than one third of his output to chronicling French country life, as he sought to pay sincere homage to this peasant population which many other artists either ignored or scorned.
The little girls and young women who constituted the shepherdesses, fisherwomen, knitters, even beggars and gypsies, became consistent themes that Bouguereau treasured and repeated. Immediately following his decision to renounce history painting, Bouguereau found inspiration in country life, which he knew well and deeply loved. Indeed he repeatedly turned to this rustic world in order to reconnect with his true roots.
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.
Le déjeuner du matin has been lost to the public since it was painted. To the best of the Bouguereau Committee' s knowledge, this painting has previously never been offered at auction. Additionally, Sotheby's is reproducing the work in color for the first time.
This image was greatly commercialized in various printed media by Braun & Clément, registered under the number 3019.
We are grateful to Damien Bartoli for providing this catalogue note (translated from the French). 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 American Society of Classical Realism.
