ANTHONY TRONCET (Buzançais 1879 – Paris 1939)
The Reluctant Model
signed A. Troncet in the lower left
oil on canvas
79 1/2 x 46 inches (204.6 x 116.9 cm.)
PROVENANCE
Private Collection, France
LITERATURE
Couvent des Cordeliers, Anthony Troncet, Portraitiste, Paysagiste, Peintre de Nus et Poète, 1988, pp. 48-49, illustrated
Nudes are prolific throughout the history of art. The intriguing aspect about this work is the viewer’s entrance into the studio prior to the act of creativity. The time period judging by the castaway clothing, hat, and shoes is most likely that of the nineteen-teens. A young girl has come to model for the first time, but after disrobing is overcome with shyness. Surrounded by objects of the painter’s craft she is reluctant to leave the security of her belongings, and the normalcy they represent. She is hesitant to enter what is essentially another world, yet by stepping out of her shoes she has already crossed over.
Anthony Troncet began his studies in the ateliers’ of Jean-Paul Laurens and Benjamin Constant. He exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français, winning bronze medals in 1899, 1900, and 1901, as well as a gold medal in 1902. In 1928 he was decorated with the Legion of Honor. The artist’s works can be found in the collections of the Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Beaux-Arts and the museums of Bertrand de Châteauroux and Nevers.