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Lot Essay
Born in Versailles on 24 January 1778, the sitter was the second son of the Comte d'Artois (later Charles X) and Marie-Thérèse de Savoie, and nephew of Louis XVI. He followed his father into exile after the Revolution and was in the Army of Conde between 1792 and 1797. In 1801, he took up residence in England, where he remained for thirteen years. During that time he married Amy Brown and had two daughters, Charlotte, Comtesse d'Issoudun, and Louise, Comtesse de Vierzon. The marriage was annulled for political reasons in 1814, when the Duc returned to France. In 1816, the Duc de Berry married his cousin, Marie-Caroline des Deux-Siciles, who was twenty years his junior. The couple had two children, Louise, Duchesse de Parme, and Henri, Duc de Bordeaux, later Comte de Chambord, who was born seven months after his father's death. On 13 February 1820, the Duc de Berry was stabbed to death, while at the opera, by Louvel, an 'ouvrier sellier' who had vowed to kill all the Bourbons. His sudden death was made all the more tragic by the fact that at that time there was no male successor to the throne.
On his deathbed the Duc de Berry confessed to the existence of the two daughters that he had had with Amy Brown during his exile. The Duchesse de Berry immediately adopted the two young girls as her own. The present painting was a gift from the Duchesse de Berry to her step-daughter Charlotte, Comtesse d'Issoudun, possibly on the occasion of her marriage to Ferdinand, Prince de Faucigny-Lucinge in 1823. Charlotte was later appointed 'gouvernante' of the Duc de Bordeaux.
Gérard was official painter to the French court. He was commissioned to paint two portraits 'en pied' of the Duc de Berry: one executed in 1819 in princely attire, wearing the Saint Esprit and the Toison d'Or decorations, standing before a bust of Henry IV, the founder of the Bourbon dynasty (Versailles); and another, in 1820, of which the present painting is a studio replica, in the same pose as before, but less formal, wearing the 'veneur' hunting costume.
The primary version of this portrait stayed in the collection of the Duchesse de Berry and was inherited by her son, the Duc de Bordeaux, later Comte de Chambord (1820-1883). He took the painting with him into exile at the Castle of Fröshdorf where it was damaged by the Soviet Army in 1945. The picture was later restored and reduced in size, and is now in a private collection. A small sketch (or ricordo) of this portrait is in the Musée de Versailles. The painting was also engraved in 1826 by Adam.
We are grateful to Mr Alain Latreille for his help in compiling this catalogue entry.
On his deathbed the Duc de Berry confessed to the existence of the two daughters that he had had with Amy Brown during his exile. The Duchesse de Berry immediately adopted the two young girls as her own. The present painting was a gift from the Duchesse de Berry to her step-daughter Charlotte, Comtesse d'Issoudun, possibly on the occasion of her marriage to Ferdinand, Prince de Faucigny-Lucinge in 1823. Charlotte was later appointed 'gouvernante' of the Duc de Bordeaux.
Gérard was official painter to the French court. He was commissioned to paint two portraits 'en pied' of the Duc de Berry: one executed in 1819 in princely attire, wearing the Saint Esprit and the Toison d'Or decorations, standing before a bust of Henry IV, the founder of the Bourbon dynasty (Versailles); and another, in 1820, of which the present painting is a studio replica, in the same pose as before, but less formal, wearing the 'veneur' hunting costume.
The primary version of this portrait stayed in the collection of the Duchesse de Berry and was inherited by her son, the Duc de Bordeaux, later Comte de Chambord (1820-1883). He took the painting with him into exile at the Castle of Fröshdorf where it was damaged by the Soviet Army in 1945. The picture was later restored and reduced in size, and is now in a private collection. A small sketch (or ricordo) of this portrait is in the Musée de Versailles. The painting was also engraved in 1826 by Adam.
We are grateful to Mr Alain Latreille for his help in compiling this catalogue entry.