Research:
Watercolor on paper.
This pair of carefully observed watercolors follows closely two prints produced by one of the most recognized graphic artists of seventeenth century France, Abraham Bosse. However, rather than being reproduced many times over like the original work, these watercolors were painted by hand, and are, therefore, unique. They depict two scenes from Bosse’s series of seven prints illustrating the Parable of the Ten Virgins, a moral lesson on spirituality that was especially aimed at women and girls. The remarkable skill in their execution, particularly the rendering of the fabrics of the clothing, and the technically difficult effect of darkness in the night scene, would suggest a professional painter. One might speculate given their subject matter, that the watercolors were commissioned as a gift to a young girl on the occasion of her first communion. That the text on the present watercolors has been translated from the original French into German, carefully rendered in traditional gothic script, reminds us of the widespread reach and appeal of Bosse’s engravings, which were exported across Europe, becoming as popular in Britain, Germany and the Netherlands as they were in the artist’s native France.
Full research report available on request.