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Lot Essay
The son of the intendant of Cardinal de Bernis, French ambassador to the Holy See, François Gérard was born in Rome in 1770. He moved to Paris with his family in 1782 and was admitted to the Pension du Roi, a school for young artists that was founded by Monsieur de Marigny. He first studied there under the sculptor Augustin Pajou and then the painter Nicolas-Guy Brenet. In 1786 he began work in the studio of Jacques-Louis David, where he met Antoine Gros, François-Xavier Fabre and Anne-Louis Girodet. He left Paris briefly for Rome in 1790 and by the time he returned David had secured him a studio and lodgings at the Louvre.
The decade of the 1790s marks the start of Gérard's real success as a painter. He exhibited both history paintings and portraits consistently at the Salon starting in 1795. It was then, too, that he caught the eye of Napoleon, who was a loyal patron from 1798. Napoleon's patronage marked the beginning of Gérard's largest output of portraits thus far. He worked as a successful portraitist until the first and second decades of the Nineteenth Century. During this time he painted members of the ruling class and aristocracy, such as Louis XVIII, Charles X and King Louis-Philippe.
Eléonore de Montmorency (1771-1828) married Alexandre, Eighth Duc de Rohan in 1785. Gérard shows her in a bust-length pose, slightly turned to the right. She looks out at the viewer with a frank gaze and is elegantly attired in the fashion of the day. The orientalist details of the costume such as the turban, the embroidered shawl, and the antique cameo pinned to her left sleeve, give us insight into her personality and indeed into the changing and expanding world of which she and Gérard were a part.
This picture is one of three known portraits of Eléonore de Montmorency produced by Gérard and his studio. Alain Latreille has recently compared these works and concludes that the two prime versions are in the collection of the Rohan family, he attributes those works to the artist himself. Latreille considers the present painting to be a studio work with some contributions by Gérard. We are grateful to Alain Latreille for his assistance in cataloguing this lot (written communication, 29 August 2006).
The decade of the 1790s marks the start of Gérard's real success as a painter. He exhibited both history paintings and portraits consistently at the Salon starting in 1795. It was then, too, that he caught the eye of Napoleon, who was a loyal patron from 1798. Napoleon's patronage marked the beginning of Gérard's largest output of portraits thus far. He worked as a successful portraitist until the first and second decades of the Nineteenth Century. During this time he painted members of the ruling class and aristocracy, such as Louis XVIII, Charles X and King Louis-Philippe.
Eléonore de Montmorency (1771-1828) married Alexandre, Eighth Duc de Rohan in 1785. Gérard shows her in a bust-length pose, slightly turned to the right. She looks out at the viewer with a frank gaze and is elegantly attired in the fashion of the day. The orientalist details of the costume such as the turban, the embroidered shawl, and the antique cameo pinned to her left sleeve, give us insight into her personality and indeed into the changing and expanding world of which she and Gérard were a part.
This picture is one of three known portraits of Eléonore de Montmorency produced by Gérard and his studio. Alain Latreille has recently compared these works and concludes that the two prime versions are in the collection of the Rohan family, he attributes those works to the artist himself. Latreille considers the present painting to be a studio work with some contributions by Gérard. We are grateful to Alain Latreille for his assistance in cataloguing this lot (written communication, 29 August 2006).