Jacques STELLA (Lyon, 1596 - Paris, 1657) The Virgin Panel on reverse coated with a white preparation Signed and dated 'J Stella fecit/1647' in pencil on verso The Virgin, panel, signed and dated, by J. Stella 12.20 x 8.46 in. 31 x 21.5 cm Provenance: Acquired by the previous owner at the Saint-Ouen flea market in December 1977 Exhibitions : Dessins et tableaux du XVIe au XXe siècle, Paris, galerie de La Scala, 2010, repr. p. 29 Bibliography: Gilles Chomer and Sylvain Laveissière, Jacques Stella (1596-1657), cat. exhibition, Lyon and Toulouse, 2006-2007, p. 173, cat. no. 100 repr. Related works : Preparatory drawing, in red chalk (34.5 x 20.5 cm), Musée des Beaux-Arts de Dijon; cf. exhibition 2006, p. 174, cat. no. 101, repr. Antoinette Bouzonnet Stella, d'après Jacques Stella, Le Christ et la Vierge adorés par les anges, burin kept at the BNF, Paris; cf. exhibition. 2006, p.174, fig. VIII.1 repr. Our Virgin's counterpart was Christ blessing (fig.1), which has the same architectural frame of pilasters (panel on the reverse coated with a white preparation, 31 x 21.5 cm, signed and dated in pencil on the reverse: J.Stella fecit/1..7; see exhibition 2006; p. 173, cat. 99). This was probably a "regard", i.e. a pair of paintings for private devotion, framed separately (unlike diptychs), almost a genre in itself in France under the regency of Anne of Austria. Note : The lot price includes VAT. VAT, at the current rate of 5.5%, is included in the hammer price. This VAT is recoverable for French professionals. It is refundable for a buyer from outside the EU or for a professional bidder who can prove an intra-Community VAT number and a document proving delivery in the Member State.