The artist's studio
Léon van Leerens, Gand, Belgium (and sold, his sale, Palais des Beaux-Arts, Brussels, December 22-23, 1931, lot 38) 
Baron Cassel Van Doorn, New Jersey (and sold, his estate, Parke-Bernet Galleries, New York, December 4, 1953, lot 281)
La Passe Ltd., New York 
The United Jewish Appeal Federation (and sold, Sotheby's, New York, October 29, 1987, lot 240, illustrated)
Acquired at the above sale

Oil on stable panel. The colors remain fresh and bright. At the extreme edges there are small nicks to the panel as well as evidence of a repair at the extreme left center edge (partially visible in current framing). There is a minor 1/2 inch long diagonal surface scratch visible at the upper extreme edge to the left of the sheaf (visible in current framing). Under UV: varnish fluoresces green unevenly. There is an area of inpainting along the extreme lower left edge; a dot of retouching on the proper left side of the figure's skirt; and possible strengthening to the outline of the figure's proper right hand and fingers.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

The present work is an oil study for Jules Breton’s large-scale Salon picture, La Moisson des oeillettes (1896, location unknown), a compositional study for which was sold in these rooms on November 8, 2012, lot 22 (fig. 1). The artist’s daughter Virginie Demont-Breton (see previous lot) identified the present work in an inscription on the reverse: Ce tableau sort de l'atelier de mon père, il a servi a l'exécution du tableau La Moisson des oeilettes qui a été vendu [...] en Amerique au vente publique [...] de deux cents mille francs./ Virginie Demont Breton/ 29 octobre 1907

(This painting left the atelier of my father, it served the execution of the painting La Moisson des oeilettes which was sold [...] in America in a public sale [...] for two hundred thousand francs.)


In this study Breton focuses on the figure at the far right of the Salon picture, who is finishing her task towards the end of the working day. Applied with rapid and impressionistic brushwork, the palette evokes the waning light of evening. As Annette Bourrut Lacouture notes, “the gesture of the young woman putting pressure on the sheaf in order to tie it, her arm resting on her knee to stop it slipping while she makes a knot.... [conveys] extraordinary keenness of observation.” (Annette Bourrut Lacouture, Jules Breton, Painter of Peasant Life, exh. cat., Musée des Beaux-Arts, Arras; Musée des Beaux-Arts, Quimper; National Gallery of Ireland, Dublin, 2002, p. 215). There are at least two known drawings of this same glaneuse and her sheaf, one of which is in collection of the Musée du Petit Palais in Paris.



We would like to thank Annette Bourrut Lacouture for confirming the authenticity of this lot, which will be included in her forthcoming catalogue raisonné on the artist.