Deutscher and Hackett

A beautiful companion work to the previous item, importantly with the signature of Petit.

This is a more highly refined drawing than the preceding portrait, its simplicity reflecting Petit’s neo-classical training, and the ability to compare the two works together so closely gives an insight into his technique. Especially given that no other version of the portrait is apparently known, the complementary nature of the two pictures becomes more important than ever. While the previous drawing is far more detailed around the face but extremely cursory in its depiction of both the appearance of the child and the woman’s flowing dress, both of the latter aspects are much more clearly defined here.

As with many of the Petit sketches this bears marks of the process by which drawings were considered for engraving for publication. Although this image does not appear in the official account and is not known to have been engraved, the note at the top by Péron in his typical sepia ink, which reads “No. 15 (bis) pouvant offrir des détails pour la planche No. 15”, shows that it may have been consulted for use of detail in another image which ultimately may not have been used in the publication. Similar notes appear on drawings lots 2, 12 and 13.  

A thorough study of such notes by Péron in the Le Havre collection has not yet been undertaken though many have been painstakingly deciphered by Bonnemains for BAW.