Charles Emmanuel LECLERCQ (Brussels, 1753 - 1821) The broken jug Oil on canvas mounted on panel Bears a collector's wax stamp on the back A poem entitled La Rose on the reverse The broken jug, oil on canvas laid down on panel, by C. E. Leclercq 10.62 x 7.08 in. 27 x 18 cm Although a painter "in the service of her majesty, the Queen of France", the Brussels-born Charles Emmanuel Leclercq, who worked in France and Italy, remains largely unknown. For a long time, his works were confused with those of Jean-Frédéric Schall, Joseph Boze and Jean-Baptiste Gautier-Dagoty, until an article published in 2004 took stock of his career and output1. The theme of the broken jug, popularised by Jean-Baptiste Greuze, symbolises lost virginity. The melancholy young woman in our painting gathers an armful of roses in the hollow of her white garment around her lower abdomen. The broken jug and the fountain in the foreground are symbols of deflowering. 1. Xavier Salmon, " Petits portraits de cour et d'amitié : l'exemple de Charles Leclercq (1753-1821), "peintre flamand au service de sa Majesté, la reine de France" ", Xavier Salmon (dir.), De soie et de poudre. Portraits de cour dans l'Europe des Lumières, Actes Sud, 2004, p. 176-192. Charles Emmanuel LECLERCQ (Brussels, 1753 - 1821) 27 x 18 cm