Claude-Marie Dubufe (French, 1790-1864) The Love Letter signed lower right 'Dubufe' oil on canvas laid on hardboard 99 x 80cm Footnote: Provenance: Findlay Galleries, Chicago, from whom acquired by Hubert Faure (1919-2020) Literature: cf. Emmanuel Bréon, Claude-Marie, Edouard et Guillaume Dubufe, Portraits d'un siècle d'élégance Parisienne, exhibition catalogue, Paris 1988, illustrated as an engraving by Claude-Marie Dubufe, 'Jeune femme montrant une lettre, 1833', p. 71 Born in Paris in 1790, Claude-Marie Dubufe originally trained as a diplomat. Fascinated by painting, in 1804 he began attending the studio of Jacques-Louis David. As he was about to embark on his diplomatic career in America in 1809, David intervened and persuaded Dubufe’s father to allow him to become his pupil. Cut off by his family as a result, Dubufe paid for his lessons in David’s studio by playing the violin in an orchestra in the evening. Dubufe first exhibited at the Paris Salon in 1810. He began his training by painting historical and genre subjects. In 1811, he was introduced to the Orléans family on a trip to Italy, which marked the beginning of his successful career as an accomplished portraitist. By 1830, he devoted himself entirely to portraits of High Society, for which he is now best known, having exhibited over 150 portraits at the Salon. His son, Édouard-Louis (1820-1883), and his grandson, Édouard Marie-Guillaume (1853-1909), were also painters. Dubufe's work is held in numerous French collections, at the Art Institute of Chicago and the National Gallery, London. This painting will be included in the forthcoming catalogue raisonné of Claude-Marie Dubufe's works, being prepared by Mr Emmanuel Bréon. Condition report: Oil on canvas which has been laid onto a piece of hardboard. There is horizontal cracking in the paint layer across the centre of the canvas where the painting would have been attached to a wooden stretcher with a horizontal cross bar. The paint layer is in a good, stable condition overall. The varnish is yellowed and uneven, there are thicker passages and drip marks evident, for example in the face of the girl on the right. There appears to be localised areas of overpaint around the edges, it may be more extensive and hidden by the varnish. There are some drip marks in the lower half of the painting. There is a light layer of dust across the surface. There are losses to the gilded surface of the frame.