110935

Preparatory work

Antoine XI-Agénor, 11th duc de Gramont  1902

Head-and-shoulders, full-face, wearing a blue waistcoat, a brown jacket, and a white cravat

Oil on board, 39.3 x 31.7 cm (15 ½  x 12 ½ in.)

Sitters’ Book I, f. 59: Duc de Gramont

Sitters’ Book I, opp. f. 61: Duc de Gramont 28 Dec. 1902

Studio Inventory, p. 40 (205): The late Duc de Gramont. Given to the son of the sitter under the Gifts Clause in the Artist’s Will.

Private Collection

The pose of the 11th duc de Gramont in this portrait study is very similar to the one de László  adopted for the first of the two  large group portraits commissioned by the sitter in 1902, which were later cut down into  six individual portraits [8752]. This careful preparatory study was most probably given to, or left with, the sitter by de László, although the left side of his face remained unfinished.

There exists another similar oil sketch of the sitter [110911], wearing the same outfit, which is also a preparatory work for the duc’s finished portrait.        

For biographical notes on the sitter, see [8752].        

LITERATURE                                        

•Laszlo, Lucy de, diary 1902-1911, private collection 6 August 1902 entry, p. 31

CC 2008