AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Do you have any idea what she might have been referring to?”
“The legal and ethical problems concerning your friend’s painting?” Juliette Lagarde rose abruptly to her feet. “Yes, Monsieur Allon. I think I might.”
Sheled him through a pair of double doors and into an adjoining sitting room. It was smaller than its neighbor, more intimate. It was a room where books were read, thought Gabriel, and letters to London art dealers written. Six Old Master paintings, beautifully framed and illuminated, adorned its walls—including a portrait of a woman, oil on canvas, approximately 115 by 92 centimeters, quite obviously Dutch or Flemish in origin.
“Does it look familiar?” asked Juliette Lagarde.
“Very,” said Gabriel, and placed a hand thoughtfully to his chin. “Do you happen to remember where your father purchased it?”
“A small gallery on the rue la Boétie in Paris.”
“Galerie Georges Fleury?”
“Yes, that’s the one.”
“When?”
“It was thirty-four years ago.”
“You have a good memory.”
“My father gave it to my mother on her fortieth birthday. She always adored this painting.”
With his hand still pressed to his chin, Gabriel tilted his head to one side.
“Does she have a name?”
“It’s calledPortrait of an Unknown Woman.” Juliette Lagarde paused, then added, “Just like your friend’s painting.”
“And the attribution?”
“I’d have to check the paperwork in my father’s files, but I believe it was a follower of Anthony van Dyck. To be honest, I find the various categories of attribution rather arbitrary.”
“So do many art dealers. They generally select the one that will earn them the most money.” Gabriel drew his phone, snapped a photograph of the woman’s face, and enlarged the image.
“Are you looking for something in particular?”
“The pattern of the surface cracks.”
“Is there a problem?”
“No,” said Gabriel. “No problem at all.”
