Monday 27 October 2014

Portraits of the princesse de Lamballe

Here are two portraits of the princesse de Lamballe which were sold as part of the Paul Rousseau collection auctioned in Toulon on 24th March 2012.  Both are described by Olivier Blanc in his chapter on the Princess iPortraits de femmes (2006).




Engraving by Ruotte dated 1791.
Bibl. nationale, Cabinet des etampes
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/btv1b84116385 


Lot 46:  Pastel portrait attributed to Henri Pierre Danloux. 40cm x 32cm., Monogrammed "Dx" and dated 1789.  This painting is also reproduced by Olivier Blanc (p.203). It depicts an older, plumper Princess with a striking short wig "en hérisson" worn over her long blond hair.

 Compare this coloured engraving of 1791 by Louis-Charles Ruotte, after a profile by Danloux (whether this pastel or another similar).

Lot 47: Miniature after a lost portrait of 1776 by Hubert Drouais. 10cm x 7.5 cm. 
See Olivier, p.193
This miniature is a Restoration copy of a lost painting by Drouais, which depicted the Princess full-length in a hooped dress and straw hat with flowers, with pearl bracelets and  a closed fan.

Another version is the mid 19th-century pastel by Louis Edouard Rioult now in the Château of Versailles 

There are also several high-quality engravings.


References

Rioult, portrait (1843)
Hôtel des Ventes de Toulon, Sale of 24th March 2012:  "Historical souvenirs of the French Revolution"
http://www.liveauctioneers.com/catalog/28854_historical-souvenirs-about-french-revolution/page1?rows=20

http://www.interencheres.com/medias/
83002/201203240007/catalogue/catalogue83002-201203240007.pdf

Olivier Blanc, Portraits de femmes : Artistes et modèles à l'époque de Marie-Antoinette  (2006)

"Danloux" in The Dictionary of pastellists 
http://www.pastellists.com/Articles/Danloux.pdf  Danloux seldom worked in pastels, preferring to draw in chalks

Entry on Joconde for the Rioult portrait.
http://www.culture.gouv.fr/public/mistral/joconde_fr?ACTION=CHERCHER&FIELD_1=REF&VALUE_1=000PE008063

1 comment:

  1. Both the pastel and the engraving look to me as if based on physionotraces. They must have been widely used as studio tools by a number of artists in this period: there's a big vogue for profiles (not flattering ones, either!).

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