The lively figure studies on this sheet relate to one of Saint-Aubin’s best-known works, A Street Show in Paris, in the National Gallery, London. In the painting, onlookers of all ages and social classes gather around a makeshift stage where two characters from the commedia dell’arte (a popular form of comic theater) engage in a mock duel.
As is often the case, Saint-Aubin was seemingly more entertained by the audience than by the performance on the stage.
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Credit Line:Promised Gift of Stephen A. Geiger, in memory of his parents, Howard W. Geiger and Mildred K. Geiger, and in honor of his brother, Julian R. Geiger
Marking: Blind stamp of the Goncourts (L. 1089) at lower right
Edmond and Jules de Goncourt, acquired between April 24 and November 15, 1858; Edmond and Jules de GoncourtParis, February 17, 1897 (lot 266); Coblentz (French), May 16-17, 1898 (lot 260bis); Georges Levesque (French), 1929; l'Etude Bisman, Rouensale, November 21, 2022, lot 469; Benjamin Peronnet, Paris, 2022
Edmond de Goncourt, Jules de Goncourt Histoire de Marie-Antoinette. Paris, 1859, P. 5.
Edmond de Goncourt, Jules de Goncourt Recueil de 112 photographies tirées par la maison Braun d’après 113 dessins de la collection Goncourt. Paris, 1879, cat. no. 91.
Edmond de Goncourt, Jules de Goncourt L'art du dix-huitième siècle. A. Quantin, 1, 3rd ed. Paris, 1880, pp. 368, 438.
Edmond de Goncourt La maison d'un artiste Volume 1. 1, Paris, 1881, pp. 147-148.
Edmond de Goncourt, Jules de Goncourt L'art du dix-huitième siècle. A. Quantin, 2, 3rd ed. Paris, 1882, pp. 113, 213.
Maurice W. Brockwell The National Gallery, Lewis Bequest. London, 1909, cat. no. XXIIa, fig. no. XVII, pp. 62-63.
Emile Dacier, Edouard Girod de l'Ain Exposition des Saint-Aubin. Paris, 1925, cat. no. 83, 67.
Marcel Roux Bibliothèque nationale. Inventaire du fonds français. Graveurs du XVIIIe siècle. VII, Paris, 1931–37, p. 400.
Emile Dacier Gabriel de Saint-Aubin, peintre, dessinateur et graveur, 1724-1780. 1, Paris, 1929, p. 34.
Emile Dacier Gabriel de Saint-Aubin, peintre, dessinateur et graveur, 1724-1780. 2, Paris, 1929, cat. no. 532-533, p. 92.
Emile Dacier Gabriel de Saint-Aubin: Peintre, dessinateur et graveur (1724-1780). 2 vols., Paris and Brussels, 1929-1931, cat. no. 465, vol.I, p.77.
Marguerite Pitsch Essai de catalogue sur l’iconographie de la vie populaire à Paris au XVIIIe siècle. Paris, 1952, cat. no. 601.
Denys Sutton, Royal Academy of Arts France in the Eighteenth Century. London, 1968, cat. no. 624.
Colin B. Bailey Gabriel de Saint-Aubin 1724-1780. Frick Collection, Musée du Louvre, Somogy, New York and Paris, 2007, fig. no. 2, p. 197, ill.
Humphrey Wine, National Gallery The Eighteenth Century French Paintings. National Gallery Company, London, 2018, pp. 440, 443-444, ill.
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