Lot n° 294
Estimation :
5000 - 6000
EUR
Result with fees
Result
: 6 500EUR
French school of the first quarter of the 19th century, afte - Lot 294
French school of the first quarter of the 19th century, after Elizabeth-Louise Vigée Le Brun (1755-1842)
Portrait of Queen Marie-Antoinette, bust, in captivity
Oil on canvas, octagonal view, presented in a fine Restauration-period gilded and molded wood frame, octagonal view, with fleur-de-lys decoration at the corners
327 x 275 mm
An interesting and delicate copy of Vigée-Lebrun's portrait of the Queen, of virtually identical dimensions (31.8 x 26.1 cm), painted on July 8, 1800, as a gift from the artist to the model's daughter, Marie-Thérèse de France, duchesse d'Angoulême (1778-1851), which was rediscovered in 1989 (Christie's New-York, Revolution, lot 24, April 13, 2016, sold for $701,000).
Vigée Le Brun depicts the captive queen in a radically sober setting, her virginal costume evoking her coming martyrdom, as well as the uprightness and moral elevation of her final moments. The artist explains the background to this portrait in his famous Souvenirs, published in 1837: "The Comte de Cossé arrived in Saint Petersburg from Mittau, where he had left the royal family. He paid me a visit to urge me to go and see the princes, who, he said, would be delighted to see me. My daughter was ill, so I couldn't leave her, and what's more, I had to fulfill commitments I'd made, not only with prominent people, but also with the imperial family for several portraits, which meant I couldn't leave St. Petersburg for some time. I expressed my sorrow to M. de Cossé, and as he was not leaving immediately, I immediately made a souvenir portrait of the Queen, which I asked him to give to Madame la duchesse d'Angoulême until I could go myself to receive Her Royal Highness's orders. This consignment gave me the pleasure of receiving the following letter from Madame, which I have kept as a token of her satisfaction:
Mittau, April 15, 1800
The Count de Cossé has given me, Madame, the portrait of my mother that you asked him to bring me. You have given me the double satisfaction of seeing in one of your finest works an image very dear to my heart. Please judge how grateful I am to you for having used your rare talents to give me this proof of your feelings, and rest assured that I am more sensitive to it than I can express to you. You can also count on my feelings for you, Madame.
Marie-Thérèse"
Bibliographical references for the prototype portrait:
-E. L. Vigée Le Brun,Souvenirs, Paris, 1837, II, p. 350.
-E. L. Vigée Le Brun, 'Enoncé de différents bruits que j'ai eu à supporter jusqu'à ce moment' 1829, N. Kourakine, ed.,Souvenirs de Voyage...,Moscou, 1903, p. 477.
-P. de Nolhac,Madame Vigée-Lebrun: peintre de la reine Marie-Antoinette, Paris, 1908, p. 115.
-W. H. Helm,Vigée Le Brun: Her Life, Works and Friendships, London, 1915, p. 134.
-A. Blum,Madame Vigée Le Brun: peintre des grandes dames du XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 1919, p. 72.
-J. Baillio, 'Le Dossier d'une œuvre d'actualité politique: Marie-Antoinette et ses enfants par Mme Vigée Le Brun',L'œil, 310, May 1980, p. 60 (wrongly identified as a copy of another portrait of the queen).
-E.L. Vigée Le Brun,Mémoires d'une portraitiste 1755-1842, Paris, 1989, p. 155, illustrated.
-O. Blanc,Portraits de femmes: artistes et modèles à l'époque de Marie-Antoinette, Paris, 2006, p. 95, illustrated.
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