Lot 319: JEAN BAPTISTE MARIE PIERRE

PARIS 1713 - 1789 A HEAD STUDY OF A FEMALE MYTHOLOGICAL FIGURE WEARING A HELMET Pastel on blue paper; signed in pen and brown ink, lower centre: Pierre 305 by 226 mm

Newcastle, 1964, no. 81; Newcastle, 1974, no. 112

N. Lesur & O. Aaron, Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre 1714-1789 Premier peintre du roi, Paris 2009, p. 459, no. D. 437, reproduced

With Louis Meier, London, from whom purchased, circa 1955

Ralph Holland's notes mention two paintings by Pierre in the King's bedroom at Versailles, depicting Juno and Venus and Juno and Jupiter, however, it is not possible to connect the present study with either of these two paintings. Whilst this study may have been intended for a larger composition, it also falls into the category of Têtes d'Expression, drawings that were used as presentation studies in the 18th century and were considered works of art in their own right. Compare, for example, another pastel study on blue paper, The Head of Antiope, looking up to the right.1 1. O. Aaron, Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre 1714-1789, Paris n.d., no. 33, reproduced on back cover