 | |
| Marie Rinteau, called Mademoiselle de Verrières |
Artist:François Hubert Drouais (French, Paris 1727–1775 Paris)
Date:1761
Medium:Oil on canvas
Dimensions:45 1/2 x 34 5/8 in. (115.6 x 87.9 cm)
Classification:Paintings
Credit Line:The Jules Bache Collection, 1949
The sitter is Marie Rinteau, who in 1748 had given birth to an illegitimate daughter, Marie Aurore, by the famous soldier and courtier Maurice de Saxe (1696–1750). Marie is remembered as the great-grandmother of the writer George Sand (1840–1876). Marie and her sister Geneviève enjoyed a brief moment of success in music and theatre and long careers as cultured courtesans, known as "les demoiselles de Verrières."
Catalogue Entry
The sitter is Marie Rinteau, or Rainteau (1728/30–1775), who in 1748 had given birth to an illegitimate daughter, Marie Aurore, by the famous soldier and courtier Maurice de Saxe (1696–1750), Maréchal de France. Mother and daughter are remembered as the great-grandmother and grandmother of the writer George Sand (1840–1876). Marie and her younger sister Geneviève, who were of humble origins, enjoyed a brief moment of success in music and theatre and longer careers as cultured courtesans. In Paris and at Autueil they built private theatres, lived in luxury, and received important guests. Neither married and from the 1750s they were known as "les demoiselles de Verrières."
Charles Sterling, in 1949, discovered that Drouais had painted portraits of both Marie and Geneviève (whereabouts unknown) which were exhibited as Portrait of a Lady Finishing Her Toilet and Portrait of a Lady Playing the Harp at the 1761 Paris Salon. Gabriel de Saint-Aubin (1724–1780) sketched them, and identified them as the Verrières sisters in his copy of the exhibition catalogue. Sterling pointed out that originally their hair was dressed close to the head, and concluded that Drouais or another painter modified the portraits to show the towering coiffures that were in style about 1775. A miniature of Marie that descended to Madame Sand confirms his conclusions.
Katharine Baetjer 2014
Copyright Image
https://images.metmuseum.org
Comments
Post a Comment