Madame Lefranc Painting Her Husband Charles Lefranc

Artist/Maker

DatesSigned: Signed 1779

Material / Technique

DimensionsMått [dager] 6.5 cm h x w x d: Ram [med hänge] 13.5 x 10.8 x 1.6 cm

Inventory numberNMB 2625

AcqusitionPurchase 2013 Hjalmar and Anna Wicander Fund

Other titlesTitle (sv): Madame Lefranc målande porträttet av sin make Charles Lefranc Title (en): Madame Lefranc Painting Her Husband Charles Lefranc

DescriptionDescription: Miniature portraits by Adélaïde Labille-Guiard are rare. This portrayal of a woman painting her husband’s portrait was executed five years after Labille-Guiard’s debut in 1774. Like many other women, she realised early on that miniature portraits provided a secure living. Her teacher was François-Élie Vincent, a Swiss neighbour of her father’s fashion boutique in Paris. Labille-Guiard later began to make pastels that she often repeated in a smaller format. Catalogue raisonné: New acquisition, February 2013: Miniature portrait, by Adélaïde Labille-Guiard Nationalmuseum has acquired a spectacular miniature by Adélaïde Labille-Guiard. One of the most important women artists in late 18th-century France, she was not previously represented in the museum’s collections. The work is interesting on account of the motif alone, depicting a woman, albeit an amateur, in the role of artist. Miniature portraits by Adélaïde Labille-Guiard (1749–1803) are extraordinarily rare. Her depiction of Madame Lefranc Painting a Portrait of Her Husband Charles Lefranc was painted five years after she made her debut (1779). Like many other female artists, she realized early on that miniature portraits offered a steady source of income. She was a pupil of the Swiss enamellist François-Élie Vincent, a neighbour of her father’s fashion shop in Paris. Gradually Labille-Guiard also took up working with pastels. She frequently reproduced these works in a smaller format as miniatures. After her election to the French Royal Academy of Art in 1783, she switched over completely to large-scale oil portraits. By then, Labille-Guiard had acquired pupils such as Marie-Gabrielle Capet and Marie-Thérèse de Noireterre. It became their job to translate her portraits into miniature format to satisfy the ever-changing demands of customers. The acquisition of this spectacular work by Adélaïde Labille-Guiard, made possible by a generous donation from the Hjalmar and Anna Wicander Foundation, has filled a major gap in Nationalmuseum’s world-renowned miniatures collection. Madame Lefranc Painting a Portrait of Her Husband Charles Lefranc also documents a time when women began to emerge as serious artists.

Exhibited

Collection

MaterialIvory, Gouache, Watercolour

TechniquePainting