The painting is a replica of the same composition by the French rococo artist Jean-Frederic Schall (1752-1825). The original version, signed and dated 1785, was formerly in the Louis Deglatigny Collection, Rouen (see A. Girodie, Jean-Frederic Schall, un peintre de Fetes Galantes, 1927, plate xi) and has been engraved by Alexandre Chaponnier.
Jean-Frederic Schall (1752-1825) was one of the last important Rococo artists. He became famous for his erotic and pastoral scenes in a style influenced by François Boucher, Jean-Honoré Fragonard and Pierre-Antoine Baudouin. The present composition, a meticulously painted private scene set in an interior, is a characteristic example of the artist’s style and recurring subject matter.
