Attributed to Jeanne-Elisabeth Chaudet (French,... Lot 41

Attributed to Jeanne-Elisabeth Chaudet (French, 1767-1832) A little girl trying to teach her dog to read Canvas. Height 91 Width 72.5 cm. Attributed to Jeanne-Elisabeth Chaudet. A painting entitled "Une petite fille voulant apprendre à lire à son chien" ("A little girl teaching her dog how to read"). Jeanne-Elisabeth Chaudet enjoyed great success during her lifetime with her particularly touching depictions of childhood. She exhibited regularly at the Salon from 1798 to 1817. Her canvases depict young children in familiar occupations, taking as models both anonymous youngsters and the little Marie-Laetitia Murat (Versailles, Château de Versailles), as well as other children from the great families of the Empire. By her second Salon, in 1799, she was already a great success with the public and critics alike, with "Une petite fille voulant apprendre à lire à un chien", of which our painting is another version. The charming child is shown in the early morning, still in her nightdress and barefoot, in all the freshness and naiveté of her age. Holding her little dog firmly in her lap, she teaches him, in all seriousness, to decipher the alphabet, in the candid certainty that this lesson will bear fruit. The image is animated by a discreet ray of light that separates the exterior from the room, caresses the book and the fruit basket, and balances the whole. Other versions of this composition are known, of similar dimensions, one signed (Hôtel Drouot, vente collégiale, November 12, 2015, no. 35), another unsigned (Paris, Audap et Mirabaud, sale March 28, 2012, lot 81), a version in small (panel, Height 37 Width 26.8 cm, sale Me Lombrail et Teucquam, June 18, 2008, lot 6).