Nicolas Lagneau

This is one of a large body of quasi-portrait drawings of peasants and laborers that are often identified as the work of Nicolas Lagneau, but it is not clear who the artist was, whether he was really named Nicolas, or whether the various drawings are actually the work of a single artist. It is also difficult to determine if these depictions are examples of blunt realism, or if their visages are accentuated or even imagined, giving credence to the pseudoscience of grotesque physiognomy. They reveal, nonetheless, a taste among artists and collectors for portrayals of the faces and expressions of those in the humbler ranks of society.
Pierpont Morgan acquired this sheet when he agreed in 1909 to purchase the Fairfax Murray collection of 1500 drawings. Fairfax Murray also obtained a second drawing by the artist at the sale of the Thibaudeau collection. That sheet was sold by Fairfax Murray to the dealers C&E Canessa, Naples and Paris, who in turn sold it to Morgan in 1907 (see I, 67a).