This charming mid-19th-century oil painting by French artist Théophile Emmanuel Duverger (1821-1886) depicts a young woman preparing a child for a stage appearance while another looks through a small hole towards the actors. All three are in costume - perhaps they’re siblings. It was previously sold at Christie’s in 1990.Duverger’s world was one of domestic utopia, where children play gleefully, wide-eyed toddlers sit patiently, and gardens are abundant with radiant blooms. He avoided the grit often associated with the earlier ‘realist’ painters, preferring a gentler, sentimental notion of wholesome family life. As such, his scenes were popular with the French bourgeoisie, the rising middle class who sought to decorate their homes with appropriate imagery.Born in Bordeaux, he was, astonishingly, self-taught - diligently studying works in museums rather than undertaking formal tuition. It would seem plausible that, given the fidelity of his figure work, he was inspired by the ol...