Studio of Louis-Jean-Francois Lagrenee (1725-1805) French
The Education of the Virgin c.1773
Oil on canvas, 40cm by 31.5cm

Anthony Barbieri London (12.06.71)
Private Collection, UK

The original canvas and paint surface of the present work support a date from the second half of the 18th century, not long after the original version on, copper, was executed for Mme Geoffrin in 1773, when Lagrenee was Professor-Rector of the Academie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture in Paris. This fully attributed version is listed in Lagrenee's manuscript, Recueil de sujets, and was exhibited at the Salon in 1773. It is likely that the original is the work auctioned at Villanfray & Associes at Drouot on 30.03.2009 (lot 15) and at Sotheby's Monaco on 20.06.1987 (lot 401).

Comparison with the fully attributed painting indicates that the present work on offer is a faithful and competent copy, with many features consistent with an attribution to Lagrenee's studio.

Based on images provided, this attribution has been confirmed by Alastair Laing and Jamie Mulherron.