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Iris, c'est de bonne heure (copy 1)
Entered March 2024
Whereabouts unknown
Oil on panel
22 x 30 cm
ALTERNATIVE TITLES
Een Landschap
PROVENANCE
Amsterdam, collection of Gerrit Braamcamp (1699-1771; distiller and lumber merchant). His sale, Amsterdam, June 4, 1766, lot 55: "WATTEAU. . . . Een Landschap, h. 38 d. br. 45 d. Op de Voorgrondt en in't midden, ziet men een jong Dametje in galante Actie en Kleeding, zynde door een Jonggelling op de Fluyt spielende, en door twee andere in gracelyke Kleeding een wenig agterwaarts aan ein boom zittende Kindertjes verzeit, en een fray Verschiet, op D." Sold for 55 florins to Fouquet, according to an annotated copy of the sale catalogue in the Rijksbureau voor Kunsthistorische Dokumentatie.
With P. Fouquet.
SELECT BIBLIOGRAHY
Bille, De Tempel der Kunst (1961), 1: 73, 127, 222; 2: 78, 85.
Washington, Paris, Berlin, Watteau 1684-1721 (1984), under cat. 72.
Vogtherr, Französische Gemälde (2011), under cat. B 3.
REMARKS
In 1961, Bille introduced the idea (followed by Rosenberg in 1984) that the Braamcamp painting was the autograph work from Watteau's hand, that is, the painting now in Berlin. More recently, Vogtherr denied this provenance, claiming that the description given in 1766 does not correspond to the Berlin painting. This is only partially correct. The description of the composition—a young girl at the center, a boy playing a flute, and two other figures set farther back and resting against a tree—wholly corresponds to Iris, c'est de bonne heure. However, as Vogtherr objected, the measurements given for the Braancamp canvas, 38 x 45 duim (26.2 x 31 cm), are indeed much too small; the Berlin painting is 97 x 116 cm. The Amsterdam painting must have been a reduced copy. It would have been the same scale as our copy 2, which measures 22 x 30 cm. However, it could not have been copy 2, because that painting had a pendant.
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Iris, c'est de bonne heure (copy 2)
Entered March 2024
Whereabouts unknown
Oil on panel
22 x 30 cm
ALTERNATIVE TITLES
Pastorale
PROVENANCE
Frankfurt, with Rudolf Bangel GmbH., sale April 25, 1928, as by Pater.
Van Gelder collection. His sale and others, Geneva, Moos, April 7, 1933, lot 28: S.J. Leclerc, Pastorale.
London, with Frank T. Sabin.
SELECT BIBLIOGRAPHY
Ferré, Watteau (1972), cat. P 63.
REMARKS
This copy after Watteau's Iris, c'est de bonne heure is based on the engraving by Cochin. The copyist's lack of skill is revealed in the handling of the faces, especially that of the boy standing at the right. The proposed attributions in the past to Watteau, Pater, and Sebastian Leclerc are unmerited.
Unidentified copyist after Watteau, Pastorale, panel, 22 x 30 cm. Whereabouts unknown.
There is a pendant, also populated with children based on inventions by Watteau that are recorded in the Jullienne Oeuvre gravé. The central girl dressed as a female Harlequin is based on a figure in Watteau's Les Habits sont italiens. The girl at the right and the figures in the left background suggest that the copyist may have drawn upon Pater's works as well.
A similar pair of pictures—a copy after Iris, c'est de bonne heure and a pastiche with the same girl dressed as a Harlequin—has been on the Paris art market several times (our cat. 4). These two pair of pendants may have been painted in the same workshop.
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Iris, c'est de bonne heure (copy 3)
Entered March 2024
Whereabouts unknown
Oil on panel
30.5 x 40.6 cm
ALTERNATIVE TITLES
Woman with Three Young Boys
PROVENANCE
New York and Kent, Connecticut, private collection. His sale and others, Litchfield County Auctions, Litchfield, Connecticut, February 11, 2016, lot 864: "Louis-Joseph Watteau de Lille, French, 1731-1798. Woman with Three Young Boys and a Dog at Right. 18th century, oil on board, not visibly signed . . . Low Estimate 800. High Estimate 1200. Measurements 12" x 16", framed 19" x 21". Condition: Restoration, inpainting, abrasions, small area of loss primarily along edges and in skirt. Property from a Private Collection in the European taste. South Kent, CT & East 87 Street, NYC."
REMARKS
Despite the attempted attribution to Watteau's nephew, Louis Joseph Watteau de Lille, the painting is just an anonymous copy after the Cochin engraving of Iris, c'est de bonne heure.
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Iris, c'est de bonne heure (copy 4)
Entered March 2024
Whereabouts unknown
Oil on oak panel
28 x 25.5 cm
ALTERNATIVE TITLES
Le Pas du danse
Scène pastorale
PROVENANCE
Paris, sale, Palais Galliera, June 13, 1969, lot 149: "MERCIER (Attribué à Philippe) Pendant du Suivant . . . LE PAS DE DANSE. Dans un paysage, une jeune fille vêtue de rose esquisse un pas de danse devant un joueur de clarinette qui est assis au pied d'un arbre près d'un panier de fleurs. Bois. Haut. 0 m 27; Larg 0 m 25,5. Cadre en bois sculpté."
Paris, sale, Tajan, April 4, 2019, lot 108: "ECOLE FRANÇAISE DU XVIIIÈME SIÈCLE, SUIVEUR D'ANTOINE WATTEAU / SCÈNE PASTORALE / SCÈNE GALANTE / Paire de panneaux de chêne, une planchet, non paqueté / Petits manques et petite griffure / Dans un cadre en sapin doré et sculpté, travail anglaise du XVIIIème siècle. Accidents et manques / 18th century French school , foll. Of A. Watteau, gallant scene, pastoral scene, pair of oak panels, one non craddle [sic] plank / 28 x 25,5 CM – 11 x 10 1/16 IN / 2 000/3 000 € la paire." Sold for €2,600 plus premium.
REMARKS
Although it has been claimed that this painting and its pendant were executed in the eighteenth century, their pastel softness suggests that they may be later. The attribution in 1969 to Philippe Mercier is a market ploy without merit. The picture's direction indicates that it was based on the Cochin engraving.
Unidentified artist after Watteau, Scène galante, oil on panel, 28 x 25.5 cm. Whereabouts unknown.
Similarly, a pendant painting, the so-called Scène galante (also dubbed La Jeune danseuse), is a pastiche based on characters excerpted from other prints after Watteau. The standing girl, for example, is based on Charles Simmoneau's print after Les Habits sont italiens where we see an actress striking a similar pose and wearing a feminine version of Harlequin's costume.
A similar pair of pictures—a copy after Iris, c'est de bonne heure and a pastiche with the same girl dressed as a Harlequin—has been on the Paris art market several times (our cat. 2) and was possibly painted in the same workshop.
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Iris, c'est de bonne heure (copy 5)
Entered March 2024
Whereabouts unknown
Oil on canvas
42.4 x 62.5 cm
ALTERNATIVE TITLES
Children Making Music and Playing with a Puppy
PROVENANCE
London, Bonhams Knightsbridge, sale, April 13, 2011, lot 229: "Circle of Philippe Mercier, Children Making Music and Playing with a Puppy in an Open Landscape, oil on canvas, 42.4 x 62.5 cm (16 11/16 x 24 5/8in). Estimation £2,500-3,500." Bought in.
London, Bonhams Knightsbridge, sale, July 26, 2017, lot 529: "Circle of Philippe Mercier, Figures in a Landscape, oil on canvas, 42.4 x 62.5 cm (16 11/16 x 24 5/8in). Estimation £1,800-2,500 / US$ 2,400 - 3,300" Bought in.
REMARKS
This poorly executed copy is in the same direction as Watteau's composition and is a relatively faithful copy, save that the copyist replaced the artist's sleepy dog with a smaller one standing on its hind legs, and changed the shape of the trees at the left. Despite the auction house's ascription of the painting to Philippe Mercier, an often-encountered gambit among auction houses, this picture remains just an anonymous copy.
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Iris, c'est de bonne heure (copy 6)
Entered March 2024
Whereabouts unknown
Oil on panel
27.3 x 22.2 cm
ALTERNATIVE TITLES
La Danse
PROVENANCE
France, Ebay, July 2014, "Peinture à l'huile ancienne de l'École de Watteau . . . reprenant une peinture qui s'intitule Iris . . . 36.5 32 cm. Taille du panneau 27.3 x 22.2 cm"
REMARKS
The direction of the composition indicates that it was copied from the Cochin engraving.
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Iris, c'est de bonne heure (copy 7)
Entered March 2024
Whereabouts unknown
Oil on canvas
66 x 81 cm
ALTERNATIVE TITLES
Scène champêtre
PROVENANCE
Saint-Ouen, collection of Wladimir Sokoloff. His Ebay notice 2017-09-7: "Scène champêtre, jeune femme et enfants. Reprise d'après un tableau de Watteau. Huile sur toile d'époque 18eme siècle. Rentoilée à la fin du 19eme. Quelques repeints en bordure ainsi qu'une légère usure au centre. Bon état. 1 200,00 EUR."
REMARKS
It is unlikely that this picture was executed in the eighteenth century. Its overly vivid color suggests a much later date. It was based on the Cochin engraving after Watteau's composition.
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Iris, c'est de bonne heure (copy 8)
Entered March 2024
Whereabouts unknown
Oil on canvas
57 x 80.5 cm
ALTERNATIVE TITLES
Danse dans un paysage
PROVENANCE
Fontainebleau, sale, Osenat, November 27, 2016, from the Château de Blayn and others,
lot 161: "ECOLE ALLEMANDE du XVIIIème siècle, suiveur de WATTEAU / Danse dans un paysage / Toile 57 x 80,5 cm / Restaurations anciennes . . . Estimation : 800 € / 1 200 €."Fontainebleau, sale, Hôtel d'Albe, Osenat, December 18, 2016, lot 258: "ECOLE ALLEMANDE du XVIllème siècle, suiveur de WATTEAU Danse dans un paysage Toile 57 x 80,5 cm Restaurations anciennes." Estimation: 500 – 600 EUR.
REMARKS
Although executed in the same direction as Watteau's original painting, it is qualitatively distant from its model. It is an awkward copy by a painter not of the first order.
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Iris, c'est de bonne heure (copy 9)
Entered March 2024
Whereabouts unknown
Gouache on vellum
19.2 x 23.5 cm
ALTERNATIVE TITLES
La Danse
PROVENANCE
Paris, sale, Hôtel Drouot (Choppin), March 30, 2009, lot 63: "École Française du XVIIIe siècle / La danse, «Iris, c'est (sic) de bonne heure avoir l'air a la danse», d'après Watteau / Gouache sur vélin - 19,2 x 23,5 cm / 600/800 €."
REMARKS
This is essentially a decorative copy of Watteau's composition, based on Cochin's engraving.
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Iris, c'est de bonne heure (copy 10)
Entered March 2024
Whereabouts unknown
Oil on canvas
78 x 55 cm
ALTERNATIVE TITLES
Petit concert champêtre
PROVENANCE
Paris, sale, Hôtel Drouot (Catherine Kalck, Guillaume Le Floc'h), 0ctober 2, 2019, lot 10: "École française du XIXe siècle dans le goût de Jean-Antoine Watteau. Petit concert champêtre / Huile sur toile. Haut.: 78 cm - Larg.: 55 cm" Estimation €150-200.
REMARKS
This vertical version of Watteau's composition was based on the Cochin engraving.
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Iris, c'est de bonne heure (copy 11)
Entered March 2024
Whereabouts unknown
Oil on canvas
71.5 x 71.5 cm
ALTERNATIVE TITLES
Elégante et jeune pâtres musiciens
PROVENANCE
Nevers, sale, Metayer, January 31, 2021, lot 509: "Ecole anglaise de la fin du XIXème siècle. Elégante et jeune pâtres musiciens. Huile sur toile. H_71.5 cm L_71.5 cm."
REMARKS
Although close to Watteau's painting, the artist introduced changes here and there: the girl's striped dress, for example, is all green rather than green and red, and the details of the distant woods were changed.
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Iris, c'est de bonne heure (copy 12)
Entered March 2024
Whereabouts unknown
Medium unknown
Measurments unknown
ALTERNATIVE TITLES
La Danse
PROVENANCE
Paris, sale, Hôtel des commissaires-priseurs, January 11, 1851, lot 37: "WATTEAU, AVEC LA GRAVURE. La Danse."
REMARKS
In the past and even today Iris, c'est de bonne heure is frequently referred to as "La Danse," even though that is not its engraved title.
For Iris, c'est de bonne heure , CLICK HERE