Description
Scheffer frequently portrayed his favorite pupil, the Princess Marie d'Orléans (1813-1839), daughter of King Louis Philippe and a prominent sculptor. As proof of her dedication and talent, she wears an artist's smock and holds a chisel. Seen nearby are several of her works, including her model of her most famous sculpture, a stoic depiction of Joan of Arc.
Provenance
Noémi Renan, niece of the artist. Shepherd Gallery, New York. Sold in 1975 to Mr. and Mrs. Noah L. Butkin, Cleveland. Given to the CMA in 1977.
Accession Number
1977.119
Medium
oil on fabric
Dimensions
Framed: 74 x 51.5 x 5.5 cm (29 1/8 x 20 1/4 x 2 3/16 in.); Unframed: 67.3 x 40.7 cm (26 1/2 x 16 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Noah L. Butkin
Tags
Painting Neoclassical & Romantic (1751–1850) Oil Painting Dutch
Background & Context
Background Story
Ary Scheffer (1795-1858) was a Dutch-born French painter known for the elegantly composed historical and portrait paintings that make him one of the most important painters of the French Romantic tradition. Princess Marie d'Orleans in Her Studio from c. 1838 depicts Princess Marie d'Orleans in her studio in the elegantly composed, precisely observed manner that distinguishes Scheffer's best portrait work from the more general portrait painting of his contemporaries. Princess Marie d'Orleans was a talented sculptor and the daughter of King Louis-Philippe, and Scheffer's portrait of her in her studio is one of the most accomplished portraits of a woman artist in the French Romantic tradition.
Cultural Impact
Princess Marie d'Orleans in Her Studio is important in the history of French painting because it depicts Princess Marie d'Orleans—a talented sculptor and the daughter of King Louis-Philippe—in her studio, one of the most accomplished portraits of a woman artist in the French Romantic tradition. Scheffer's portrait—depicting a woman artist at work in her studio with the precise observation and elegant composition that are his most distinctive contributions—represents one of the most important traditions in French Romantic portraiture, and the c. 1838 painting shows this tradition at its most precisely observed.
Why It Matters
Princess Marie d'Orleans in Her Studio is Scheffer's precisely observed Romantic portrait: the princess and sculptor depicted in her studio in the elegantly composed manner of one of the most important painters of the French Romantic tradition. The c. 1838 portrait is one of the most accomplished portraits of a woman artist in French painting.
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