Description: The somewhat risqué subject matter of these two paintings by Pierre-Auguste Vafflard, contrasting with his production of history paintings in the troubadour style, may account for the fact that they remained in the artist’s home until his death in 1837, when they were sold at auction by his heirs. The two canvases present two moments of a love story, a before and an after, both involving a letter. They were exhibited in 1829 at the Salon in Douai with the titles L’aveu and L’adieu, with the first scene showing the young woman not only confessing her love, prompted by the letter in her hand, but also, presumably, conceding to a sexual union suggested by her baring of one her breasts to the viewer, who takes the place of the lover. In the second scene, the lover, whose crumpled farewell letter lies on the column-shaped bedside table, has jilted her, with, one can assume, dire consequences for the young woman. The two paintings are good examples of a kind of genre painting with a moralizing and at the same time titillating content that flourished in the second quarter of the 19th century.

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