Lot 140: François-Louis-Joseph Watteau, called Watteau de Lille (Valenciennes 1758-1823 Lille)

Portrait of a man, bust-length
black and white chalk, stumped, on blue paper
22 3/4 x 13 in. (576 x 331 mm.)

G. Maës, Les Watteau de Lille, Paris, 1998, p. 491 (as a lost drawing).

Charles Lenglart (1740-1816), by descent to
Dehau Collection; Paris, 23-24 April 1909, lot 164.

Charles Lenglart, a banker as well as a merchant in the lace trade and a judge, was Watteau's main patron. He was also one of the most important collectors of paintings in Northern France. The present work, the following drawing and 67 further works by Watteau remained in Lenglart's family until 1909.
This drawing and the following lot are closely comparable to two other portraits illustrated in G. Maës, op. cit., nos. FD 154-FD156.