Jean François Janinet (1752-1814) - L'Aveu difficile

Color aquatint curiosa depicting two women who confess to one another.
An exemplar in excellent condition, with wide margins, on 19th-century paper (see photo).
Signed and dated on the plate, on the left "Lawrince del.", title in the center, on the right "F. Janinet sculp. 1787"; as usual for the named author the Janinet address is shown at the bottom.
First published for the Gazette de France, on July 6 and 10, 1787; taken from a series of etchings by Janinet after designs by Lavreince; this series also includes "La Comparaison", "L'Indiscrétion" and, probably, "La Joueuse de guitare".
Interior scene with a woman seated at a washbasin, wearing a white dress that leaves her breast exposed and turning toward a woman standing with a blue dress, a rose in hand and gaze directed downward.
Bocher, 8.III; Portalis & Beraldi, 39.III; IFF, 24.III.