A preparatory oil sketch for a picture commissioned to decorate Louis XV’s dining room at Fontainebleau. The sketch was probably submitted to the king for approval before De Troy proceeded with the commission. 'A Hunt Breakfast' depicts the aristocratic pleasures of the chase, underlining the essentially gallant nature of the scene, through the conversational attitudes of the male and female figures. It is remarkable for its fluid, rapid handling and vivid colouring, recalling the influence of Rubens and Venetian art on French painting at the beginning of the eighteenth century.