François BONVIN

Dated 1876, the present sheet is a fine and typical example of the sort of finished drawing that the artist is likely to have intended for sale. The drawing was once part of the stock of the Parisian form of Galerie F. & J. Tempelaere, established by the brothers Ferdinand and Julien Tempelaere in 1904 after the death of their father, the dealer Gustave Tempelaere. The elder Tempelaere seems to have begun taking an interest in Bonvin’s work around 1874 or 1875, and eventually signed a contract with the artist and helped to support him financially.

Black and red chalk, with touches of white chalk.
Faintly and illegibly inscribed in pencil at the lower right.