Chaplin - master of portrait painting.

(1825 Andelys - 1891 Paris) The small favorite. A charming, delicately characterized portrait of a young girl in a delicate, white, flowing dress, lovingly holding her cat in her arms and gently and directly gazing at the viewer. This finely painted, virtuosic, nuanced work by Chaplin, whose motif the artist often depicted, including in a variation with a dog. Trained by Michel-Martin Drolling, Chaplin initially created landscapes but later dedicated himself to the so-called boudoir painting in the tradition of the works by François Boucher (1703-1770). Oil on canvas, laid down on panel; signed; 54.7 cm x 37.7 cm. Framed.