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Lot Essay
A full length portrait by Vige-Lebrun of the same subject is in the Muse des Beaux-Arts, Rouen, F. Bergot et al., The Fine Arts Museum, Rouen, Rouen, 1994, pp. 56-7.
Elisabeth Vige-Lebrun met Madame Grassini during her stay in London between 1803 and 1805 and described their meeting in her Souvenirs: '...les deux premires cantatrices de l'Opra de Londres madame Billington et la belle madame Grassini, chantrent ensemble deux duos avec une rare perfection [...] Je prsentait Madame Grassini toutes les grandes dames que j'avais invites; car on la recherchait dj beaucoup Londres, ce qui tait bien naturel, attendu qu'elle joignait sa beaut et son talent si remarquables une extrme amabilit; sa voix tait une de ces voix basses, appeles contralto, qui sont fort rares et fort estimes en Italie, tandis que madame Billington avait un soprano; mais toutes deux se plaisaient quelque fois empiter sur le domaine de sa rivale, ce qui, selon moi, n'tait avantageux ni l'une ni l'autre. Je me souviens qu'un jour j'tais la reprsentation d'un opra dans lequel madame Grassini et madame Billington chantaient ensemble, et la premire venait de donner quelques notes fort leves, lorsque le directeur vint dans ma loge et me dit d'un air furieux "Vous voyez ce qui vient d'arriver; et bien! cela ne m'tonne pas, car, lorsque je vais le matin chez ces dames, je trouve madame Billington qui rpte ses rles dans le bas, et madame Grassini dans le haut; voil ce qui me dsespre"', op. cit., pp. 126-7. Vige-Lebrun left England early in 1805. Later in her Souvenirs she records that Madame Grassini had come to stay with her for the last few days that she spent on the coast before embarking for France. She commented 'Cette belle femme quittait les plaisirs de Londres, ses amis, sans parler de la foule d'adorateurs toujours attachs ses pas, pour me tenir simplement compagnie; ce trait me parut bien aimable, aussi ne l'ai-je jamais oubli', op. cit., p. 153.
Vige-Lebrun retained throughout her life one portrait of Madame Grassini along with another of the singer Madame Catalani that she had painted in Paris. This version of the portrait is the one that Vige-Lebrun bequeathed to Rouen Museum, and which was engraved by S.W. Reynolds. Madame Vige-Lebrun executed another portrait of Madame Grassini in 1807 which she gave to the Acadmie du Vaucluse.
Giuseppina Grassini (1773-1850) was one of the most famous singing actresses of the early 19th century, admired as much for the strength of her contralto voice as for her striking beauty and catholic taste in lovers. She made her dbut in Guglielmi's La pastorella nobile in Parma in 1789, following this with a number of increasingly dramatic roles. In June 1800 she sang two performances for Napoleon at La Scala, and began an affair with him which took her to Paris. In 1804 she came to London, performing a number of roles to general acclaim. The present sheet shows her as the eponymous heroine in Peter von Winter's Zaira, based on a story by Voltaire, which opened at the Haymarket Theatre on 29 January 1805. In this period she also became the mistress of the future Duke of Wellington. She returned to Paris in 1806 and became a leading court singer at the Tuileries, receiving a salary of 36,000 francs and a gratuity of 15,000 francs from Napoleon, now crowned Emperor. In 1814 she returned to London for the season. Following Napoleon's defeat she returned to Italy, singing in Brescia, Padua, Trieste and Florence, finally retiring only in 1823.
Elisabeth Vige-Lebrun met Madame Grassini during her stay in London between 1803 and 1805 and described their meeting in her Souvenirs: '...les deux premires cantatrices de l'Opra de Londres madame Billington et la belle madame Grassini, chantrent ensemble deux duos avec une rare perfection [...] Je prsentait Madame Grassini toutes les grandes dames que j'avais invites; car on la recherchait dj beaucoup Londres, ce qui tait bien naturel, attendu qu'elle joignait sa beaut et son talent si remarquables une extrme amabilit; sa voix tait une de ces voix basses, appeles contralto, qui sont fort rares et fort estimes en Italie, tandis que madame Billington avait un soprano; mais toutes deux se plaisaient quelque fois empiter sur le domaine de sa rivale, ce qui, selon moi, n'tait avantageux ni l'une ni l'autre. Je me souviens qu'un jour j'tais la reprsentation d'un opra dans lequel madame Grassini et madame Billington chantaient ensemble, et la premire venait de donner quelques notes fort leves, lorsque le directeur vint dans ma loge et me dit d'un air furieux "Vous voyez ce qui vient d'arriver; et bien! cela ne m'tonne pas, car, lorsque je vais le matin chez ces dames, je trouve madame Billington qui rpte ses rles dans le bas, et madame Grassini dans le haut; voil ce qui me dsespre"', op. cit., pp. 126-7. Vige-Lebrun left England early in 1805. Later in her Souvenirs she records that Madame Grassini had come to stay with her for the last few days that she spent on the coast before embarking for France. She commented 'Cette belle femme quittait les plaisirs de Londres, ses amis, sans parler de la foule d'adorateurs toujours attachs ses pas, pour me tenir simplement compagnie; ce trait me parut bien aimable, aussi ne l'ai-je jamais oubli', op. cit., p. 153.
Vige-Lebrun retained throughout her life one portrait of Madame Grassini along with another of the singer Madame Catalani that she had painted in Paris. This version of the portrait is the one that Vige-Lebrun bequeathed to Rouen Museum, and which was engraved by S.W. Reynolds. Madame Vige-Lebrun executed another portrait of Madame Grassini in 1807 which she gave to the Acadmie du Vaucluse.
Giuseppina Grassini (1773-1850) was one of the most famous singing actresses of the early 19th century, admired as much for the strength of her contralto voice as for her striking beauty and catholic taste in lovers. She made her dbut in Guglielmi's La pastorella nobile in Parma in 1789, following this with a number of increasingly dramatic roles. In June 1800 she sang two performances for Napoleon at La Scala, and began an affair with him which took her to Paris. In 1804 she came to London, performing a number of roles to general acclaim. The present sheet shows her as the eponymous heroine in Peter von Winter's Zaira, based on a story by Voltaire, which opened at the Haymarket Theatre on 29 January 1805. In this period she also became the mistress of the future Duke of Wellington. She returned to Paris in 1806 and became a leading court singer at the Tuileries, receiving a salary of 36,000 francs and a gratuity of 15,000 francs from Napoleon, now crowned Emperor. In 1814 she returned to London for the season. Following Napoleon's defeat she returned to Italy, singing in Brescia, Padua, Trieste and Florence, finally retiring only in 1823.