Nicolas LANCRET Paris, 1690 - 1743 (and Jean-Baptiste PATER Valenciennes, 1695 - Paris, 1736) The open-air meeting Oil on canvas (Wear and restorations) No frame The outdoor meeting, oil on canvas, by N. Lancret and J.-B. Pater 20.86 x 25.59 in. 53 x 65 cm Provenance: Possibly the Edward Crockford collection; His sale (among other collections), London, Christie's, 24 February 1849, no. 111 ("Watteau, Jean Antoine, A garden scene, with a temple, and numerous figures - beautifully painted"); Jacques Bottolier-Lasquin Collection (-1902); Its sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Me Pillet, 23 December 1875, no. 40 (as Attributed to Antoine Watteau, "Les Plaisirs de l'été. Next to a fountain, young women, with their riders beside them, are resting in the shade of tall trees, one of them plucks a guitar while two others sing, holding a music book on their knees; in the background, we see a pavilion with stone columns; on the right, a statue. A charming painting in a warm and vigorous tone. [Sold for 600 frs to Franck Joseph Charles Chauveau; Collection Franck Joseph Charles Chauveau (1846-1921), Paris ; Then, by marriage, to his widow, Edmée Louise-Cécile Chauveau (1872-1943); His sale after death, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, Me Bellier, 13 December 1943, no. 13 (as an 18th-century French school), bought by Lasnier. While 19th-century historiography had portrayed Watteau as a solitary genius, recent work by Axel Moulinier has enabled us to reconsider the conditions in which he practised his painting1. He had a number of key collaborators: Pierre Antoine Quillard and the best-known, Jean-Baptiste Pater and Nicolas Lancret, who painted our picture. A close look at our painting shows that it was painted by two hands. Nicolas Lancret was responsible for the figures and the architecture in the background, as well as the fountain and the sculptures. A comparison of our painting with the one by Jean-Baptiste Pater in the Fondation Bemberg supports this attribution2. The seated couple seen from the back, on the other hand, was not painted by the same artist, as evidenced by the dense layer of paint applied with confidence. Its execution betrays the style of Jean-Baptiste Pater. Axel Moulinier likens it to Pater's painting of La Foire à Bezons in the Metropolitan Museum in New York (inv. 49.7.52). 1 Axel Moulinier (ed.), "L'Univers de Watteau": réseaux et influences autour d'Antoine Watteau (1684-1721), Paris, 2022. 2. Nicolas Lancret, Concert et danse dans un bois, oil on canvas, 71.5 x 55.5 cm, Toulouse, Fondation Bemberg, inv. 1102. We would like to thank Mr Axel Moulinier for confirming the double attribution of this work in an email dated 7 January 2026 and for the valuable information he provided on this painting. The auction price includes VAT. VAT at the reduced rate of 5.5% applies to the hammer price and the sales commission. This VAT is recoverable for French professionals. It is refundable for a buyer from outside the EU on presentation of proof of export from the EU or for a professional buyer providing proof of an intra-Community VAT number and a document proving delivery in the Member State. The hammer price will be VAT included. 5.5% VAT will be added to the hammer price and buyer's premium. Upon request, this VAT can be refunded to the purchaser on presentation of written proof of exportation outside the EU or to the EU purchaser who will submit his intracommunity VAT number and a proof of shipment of his purchase to his EU country home address. Nicolas LANCRET Paris, 1690 - 1743 (and Jean-Baptiste PATER Valenciennes, 1695 - Paris, 1736) 53 x 65 cm