Henri-Antoine de FAVANNE (London, 1668 - Paris, 1752) The Virgin and Child Oil on canvas (Original canvas) Signed and dated '(...) Favanne. 1736.' on the canvas in ink on the reverse The Virgin and Child, oil on canvas, by H.-A. de Favanne 18.11 x 14.17 in. 46 x 36.5 cm Provenance: Anonymous sale; Chartres, Galerie de Chartres, Mes Lelièvre, Maiche, Paris, 3 April 2005, n°138 ; Acquired at this sale by the current owners A pupil of René-Antoine Houasse, Henri de Favanne was awarded the Grand Prix in 1693 and worked in Rome from 1695 to 1700, then at the Spanish court with the Princess des Ursins. After the princess's disgrace, he returned to France and undertook his most important work, the decoration of the Château de Chanteloup, of which only a sketch remains (preserved in the Musée du Louvre). Our painting reveals the artist's simple, measured art, an almost timeless charm that shows, at the height of Boucher's reign, the persistence of a trend in painting faithful to the models of Antiquity, forming a link between Poussin, Le Sueur and the neo-classical painting of the late 18th century. Henri-Antoine de FAVANNE (London, 1668 - Paris, 1752) 46 x 36.5 cm