Jean-Baptiste LEPRINCE (1734 - 1781) Young Dancer... Lot 15

Jean-Baptiste LEPRINCE (1734 - 1781) Young Dancer with Turban seen from the left side Sanguine, small freckles and stain Dimensions : 22,6 x 17,3 cm Provenance : According to a sale label on the back -Sale Ader 9/12/1961 under n.7 Reproduced pl. III - Stamp in blue ink of the Jacques Pardinel Collection on the reverse Jean Baptiste Leprince was still a young student when he was offered a scholarship by the governor of the city of Metz, giving him the opportunity to join Paris and the workshop of François Boucher. The quality of his work made him one of the most appreciated draftsmen of his time. He went to Holland and then stayed in Russia from 1758 to 1763, traveling as far as Finland and Siberia. He observed Russian daily life with fascination and brought back a quantity of studies of landscapes, costumes, coiffures and interiors. Upon his return to Paris in 1762, his "russeries" aroused infatuation and founded a fashion in France that was part of the taste for exoticism in vogue in the 18th century, along with chinoiserie or turquerie. He was subsequently admitted to the Academy in 1765 with The Russian Baptism, and Diderot himself praised the artist's "genius and freshness". Our red chalk drawing represents a young dancer with a turban. The subject is typical of Leprince's Russian productions by its exotic character, especially in the costume and the characteristic physique of this character, which will bring a total change of scenery and will arouse the curiosity of a unanimous French public. Expert : Alexis Bordes