Sketches For A Portrait - French School, Early 20th Century (attr. Marguerite Paing)

French School, early 20th century - attributed to Marguerite Paing (1889-1974)
Preparatory studies for the portrait of a woman
20 x 15.7 cm
Pencil on paper
studio stamp, lower right: "Atelier ET/MP 1858-1922"

Good condition, framed under glass
Dimensions with frame: 26.5 x 23 cm

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Perhaps unintentionally surrealistic - a kind of accidental composition - this sheet which is at times elegant and surprisingly modern juxtaposes certain elements of research for the portrait of a woman. It is difficult to know whether the artist began her work with the mouth and the outline of the face, or with this nose, or that one.

Like its model, this drawing could remain anonymous, but the studio stamp in the lower right nevertheless indicates an interesting provenance that warrants further investigation. “Atelier ET / MP” refers to the names of two artists who shared a studio in Luçay-le-Mâle, in the Berry region in France, at the beginning of the 20th century. EM indicates the name of the academic painter Émile Thivier (1858-1922) and MP, Marguerite Paing (1889-1974). Marguerite was Thivier's sister-in-law, and according to research on the two artists, he bequeathed his studio to her upon his death in 1922. He was also her teacher in the early 1900s.

Whether a sketch for a self-portrait or a drawing from a model, this sheet is both subtle and intriguing, guided by a clear-line drawing style that culminates in a form of strangeness, whether intentional or not.

In the absence of a signature, an attribution to Marguerite Paing seems the most likely hypothesis, considering how much the painter Thivier abhorred early 20th-century modernism. A webpage dedicated to him states: "In 1914, modern painting was, for him, 'an unspeakable heresy.' Picasso seemed to him the worst of all these artists, because placing objects 'in any order without composition' was an aberration for someone who had learned perspective and modeling."

Having read these lines, it's difficult to imagine attributing this to Émile Thivier.

The drawing is in good condition, carefully framed under glass.
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