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Lot Essay
The tumultuous, at times even dangerous, turns of Madame Tallien’s fascinating life seem far removed from this elegant portrait by Boilly set in tranquil nature, possibly a corner of the château de Raincy’s park, reconceived in the English style by Thomas Blaikie (1751-1838). Confirmed by Mabille de Poncheville in 1931 (loc. cit.), the identity of the sitter is without doubt, as revealed by comparison of the present picture with Baron Gérard’s Portrait of Madame Tallien of circa 1805. Born Jeanne-Marie-Ignace Thérésia Cabarrús in Madrid in 1773 to the Director of the Royal Bank of Spain, she was raised in Paris. At fourteen, she married the Marquis Jean-Jacques Devin de Fontenay (1762-1817), but soon left him due to his dissolute lifestyle and found herself drawn instead to the Revolutionary ideas then gaining momentum. Her political involvement led to her being imprisoned twice and nearly guillotined in Bordeaux, a fate she escaped thanks to Jean-Lambert Tallien (1767-1820), initially one of the Terror’s most notorious proponents. Under Thérésia’s influence, Tallien’s stance softened, resulting in the release of numerous condemned aristocrats. Married in 1794, the pair worked together on precipitating Robespierre’s downfall. Following their divorce in 1802 and a romance with the wealthy financier Gabriel-Julien Ouvrard (1770-1846), Madame Tallien wed François-Joseph-Philippe de Riquet, comte de Caraman and followed him to Belgium, through him becoming Princesse de Chimay in 1805.
Renowned for her great beauty, Madame Tallien befriended numerous artists and ran a lively salon that showed off her sparkling intellect. She was also known for her fashion sense, as evidenced by the curled `Titus’ coiffure she sports in the present portrait. Inspired by Roman sculpture busts, the hairstyle speaks of the period’s fascination with the ideals and aesthetics of antiquity, as does her white gown cinched beneath the bustline (the so-called `Empire’ waist). The meandering road in the portrait’s background may be suggestive of the unexpected twists in Madame Tallien’s life, while the bridge may signal a path to a brighter, more straightforward future, an idea reinforced by her nascent smile. Extant works connected to the present composition include an unfinished drawing showing Madame Tallien in a garden (Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille; see É. Breton and P. Zuber, op. cit., pp. 569, 58, no. 408D verso) as well as a grisaille version of our painting which has her seated next to her daughter, Thermidor (1795-1862; see ibid., pp. 581-582, no. 450P).
Renowned for her great beauty, Madame Tallien befriended numerous artists and ran a lively salon that showed off her sparkling intellect. She was also known for her fashion sense, as evidenced by the curled `Titus’ coiffure she sports in the present portrait. Inspired by Roman sculpture busts, the hairstyle speaks of the period’s fascination with the ideals and aesthetics of antiquity, as does her white gown cinched beneath the bustline (the so-called `Empire’ waist). The meandering road in the portrait’s background may be suggestive of the unexpected twists in Madame Tallien’s life, while the bridge may signal a path to a brighter, more straightforward future, an idea reinforced by her nascent smile. Extant works connected to the present composition include an unfinished drawing showing Madame Tallien in a garden (Palais des Beaux-Arts, Lille; see É. Breton and P. Zuber, op. cit., pp. 569, 58, no. 408D verso) as well as a grisaille version of our painting which has her seated next to her daughter, Thermidor (1795-1862; see ibid., pp. 581-582, no. 450P).