The Princesse de Broglie
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''The '' (french: La Princesse de Broglie ) is an oil-on-canvas painting by the French Neoclassical artist . It was painted between 1851 and 1853, and shows , who adopted the
courtesy title A courtesy title is a title that does not have legal significance but rather is used through custom or courtesy, particularly, in the context of nobility, the titles used by children of members of the nobility (cf. substantive title). In some co ...
'Princesse'. Born , she married , the future 28th
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, in 1845. was 28 at the time of the painting's completion. She was highly intelligent and widely known for her beauty, but she suffered from profound shyness and the painting captures her
melancholia Melancholia or melancholy (from el, µέλαινα χολή ',Burton, Bk. I, p. 147 meaning black bile) is a concept found throughout ancient, medieval and premodern medicine in Europe that describes a condition characterized by markedly dep ...
. contracted
tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB) is an infectious disease usually caused by '' Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can also affect other parts of the body. Most infections show no symptoms, in ...
in her early 30s and died in 1860 aged 35. Although lived until 1901, he was heartbroken and did not remarry. undertook a number of preparatory pencil sketches for the commission, each of which captures her personality and taste. They show her in various poses, including standing, and in differently styled dresses. The final painting is considered one of 's finest later-period portraits of women, along with the Portraits of , and . As with many of 's portraits of women, details of the costume and setting are rendered with precision while the body seems to lack a solid bone structure. The painting is held in the collection of the
Metropolitan Museum of Art The Metropolitan Museum of Art of New York City, colloquially "the Met", is the largest art museum in the Americas. Its permanent collection contains over two million works, divided among 17 curatorial departments. The main building at 1000 ...
, New York, and is signed and dated 1853.


Commission

(1825–1860) married Albert, 4th Duke de Broglie on 18 June 1845, and they had five sons together. On the occasion of their marriage, they styled themselves 'Princesse' and 'Prince' respectively, due the former title of ' Prince of the Holy Roman Empire' granted to the
House of Broglie The House of Broglie (, also ; french: Maison de Broglie, or ) is a French noble family, originally Piedmontese, who migrated to France in the year 1643. History () was the name of an old Piedmontese noble family, from which were descended t ...
(1759). was a highly intelligent and religious woman, who was well read and wrote a number of texts over her lifetime. Her shyness was well known; she was widely considered strikingly beautiful and charming, but those around her would often avoid eye contact so as not to embarrass her. was devoted to his wife, and commissioned the painting after being impressed by 's 1845 portrait of his sister, the .Naef (1966), p. 274 approached around 1850 to undertake the portrait. dined with the family in January 1850, and according to one eyewitness, "seemed to be very happy with his model". Although 's chief source of income came from portraiture, it distracted from his main interest in
history painting History painting is a genre in painting defined by its subject matter rather than any artistic style or specific period. History paintings depict a moment in a narrative story, most often (but not exclusively) Greek and Roman mythology and Bible ...
, which early in his career, was far less lucrative. He found acclaim in the 1840s, when he became successful enough to no longer depend on commissions.Tucker (2009), p. 13 This painting was 's second-last female portrait, and final society portrait.Tinterow (1999), p. 449 Influenced by the working methods of began with a number of nude preparatory sketches, for which he employed professional models. He built up a picture of the sitter's underlying anatomical structure, as seen in the study, before deciding how to build the lavish costume and accessories. Although there is no surviving record of the commission, and the exact sequence of events is uncertain, the sketches can be dated from 1850, the year the style of her evening dress came into fashion. signed and dated the final picture at the left center "J. INGRES. pit 1853". died in 1860 aged 35 from tuberculosis. After her death, published three volumes of her essays on religious history.Tinterow (1999), p. 447 (who, in 1873, became the 28th
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) lived until 1901, but was heartbroken and did not remarry. He kept her portrait for the remainder of his life draped in fabric and hidden behind a velvet curtain, lending it only to select exhibitions. After his death, the painting passed within the family until 1958 when it was sold to the Metropolitan Museum of Art via the banker and art collector
Robert Lehman Robert Owen Lehman, Sr. (September 29, 1891 – August 9, 1969) was an American banker, longtime head of the Lehman Brothers investment bank, and a racehorse owner, art collector, and philanthropist. Life and career Lehman was born to a Jewish ...
,Tinterow (1999), p. 454 and is today held in the Lehman Wing. The family kept most of the jewelry and accessories seen in the painting, although the marabou feathers were sold to the Costume Institute of the Metropolitan Museum.


Preparatory studies

There are comparatively few extant preparatory sketches for the painting compared to other of his later period portraits. 's usual technique was to use sketches both to plot the final work and to provide guidance for assistants on whom he relied to paint in the less important passages. Some others have been lost or destroyed.Tucker (2009), p. 17 The extant sketches date from 1850 to 1853 and are drawn with
graphite Graphite () is a crystalline form of the element carbon. It consists of stacked layers of graphene. Graphite occurs naturally and is the most stable form of carbon under standard conditions. Synthetic and natural graphite are consumed on large ...
on paper or tracing paper. They vary in elaboration and detail, but show thinking through the eventual form and pose of the sitter. The earliest consists of a brief sketch of the princess in a seated pose.Tucker (2009), p. 16 There is a full-length study of a nude standing in essentially the final pose, in which experimented with two different positions of the crossed arms. A second full-length study shows a clothed figure. Two others are focused on her hands. A highly finished drawing of the princess standing with her left hand at the neck and dressed in a simpler costume than in the painting, may be a study for the painting or an independent work. Besides these five or six extant sketches, about the same number are known to be lost. File:Ingres Study for a Portrait of the Princesse de Broglie (c).jpg, alt=Sketch showing two seated figures, ''Study for a Portrait of the'' , File:Ingres Study for a Portrait of the Princesse de Broglie (a).jpg, alt= standing, with her left arm raised towards her neck, , . Graphite on paper, 31.2x23.5cm. Private collection. File:Ingres Study for a Portrait of the Princesse de Broglie.jpg, alt=Nude study, ''Study'', . Graphite on paper, 30x16cm. . File:Ingres Study for a Portrait of the Princesse de Broglie (b).jpg, alt= seated, with arms crossed over her lap, ''Study'', . Graphite and red chalk on paper, 27.8x17.5cm. Location unknown. The painting's central motifs were already established in the earliest studies, in which her oval face, arched eyebrows, and habit of folding her arms with one stuffed into the opposing sleeve appear. found the sittings difficult and agonised over every detail. He wrote to his friend and patron that he was "killing iseyes on the background of the , which I am painting at her house, and that helps me advance a great deal; but, alas, how these portraits make me suffer, and this will surely be the last one, excepting, however, the portrait of
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."


Description

The is shown in three-quarters view, her arms resting on a lavishly upholstered, pale gold damask easy chair. Her head is tilted to the viewer's left, and her black hair tightly pulled back and bound by blue satin ribbons.Tucker (2009), p. 11 She is pictured in the family home at 90 in Paris, in an evening dress that implies she is about to go out for the evening.Marandel (1987), p. 72 She is dressed in the height of contemporary Parisian fashion,Naef (1966), p. 276 in particular the opulent Second Empire fashions then current in clothing, jewelry and furniture. She wears a gold embroidered evening shawl, and an off-the-shoulder, pale blue satin hoop skirt gown, with short sleeves and a lace and ribbon trim, highly emblematic of 1850s evening dress. Her hair is covered with a sheer frill trimmed with matching blue ribbon knots, and is swept back with a centre parting. Her adornments include a necklace, tasseled earrings and bracelets on each wrist. Her pendant with signifies her piety, and was perhaps designed by or .Amory, Dita (2016).
Joséphine-Éléonore-Marie-Pauline de Galard de Brassac de Béarn (1825–1860), Princesse de Broglie
. Catalogue Entry.
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. Retrieved 23 September 2017
Her earrings are made from cascades of small natural pearls. Her left wrist has a bracelet of roped pearls; the one on her right is made of enameled red and diamond set gold links. The necklace is held by a double looped chain holding a gold pendant, which appears to be an original
Roman Roman or Romans most often refers to: *Rome, the capital city of Italy *Ancient Rome, Roman civilization from 8th century BC to 5th century AD *Roman people, the people of ancient Rome *''Epistle to the Romans'', shortened to ''Romans'', a letter ...
bulla Bulla (Latin, 'bubble') may refer to: Science and medicine * Bulla (dermatology), a bulla * Bulla, a focal lung pneumatosis, an air pocket in the lung * Auditory bulla, a hollow bony structure on the skull enclosing the ear * Ethmoid bulla, pa ...
.McConnell (1991), p. 38 As with all of 's portraits of women, her body seems to lack a solid bone structure. Her neck is unusually elongated, and her arms seem boneless or dislocated, while her left forearm appears to be under modeled and lacking in musculature. Her oval face and her expression are idealised, lacking the level of detail given to other foreground elements, although she was widely known as a great beauty. The painting is composed of gray, white, blue, yellow and gold hues.Rosenblum (1990), p. 118 The costume and decor are painted with a supreme precision, crispness and realism that art historians have compared to the work of
Jan van Eyck Jan van Eyck ( , ; – July 9, 1441) was a painter active in Bruges who was one of the early innovators of what became known as Early Netherlandish painting, and one of the most significant representatives of Early Northern Renaissance art. Ac ...
.Rosenblum (1990), p. 32 In many ways the painting is austere; art historian
Robert Rosenblum Robert Rosenblum (July 24, 1927 – December 6, 2006) was an American art historian and curator known for his influential and often irreverent scholarship on European and American art of the mid-eighteenth to 20th centuries. Biography Rosenblum wa ...
describes a "glassy chill", and "astonishing chromatic harmonies that, for exquisite, silvery coolness, are perhaps only rivaled by
Vermeer Johannes Vermeer ( , , see below; also known as Jan Vermeer; October 1632 – 15 December 1675) was a Dutch Baroque Period painter who specialized in domestic interior scenes of middle-class life. During his lifetime, he was a moderately succe ...
".Rosenblum (1990), p. 37 Her facial features are statuesque and in places display the quality of
porcelain Porcelain () is a ceramic material made by heating substances, generally including materials such as kaolinite, in a kiln to temperatures between . The strength and translucence of porcelain, relative to other types of pottery, arises mainl ...
. The painting contains a number of , including around the contours of her hair, and the yellow chair. There are horizontal bands about 2.5cm wide in yellow paint on either side of her head near the earrings. They seem to have been used to plot the positioning of the moldings. The black hat on the chair seems to have been a late addition. There are visible passages of
underdrawing Underdrawing is a preparatory drawing done on a painting ground before paint is applied, for example, an imprimatura or an underpainting. Underdrawing was used extensively by 15th century painters like Jan van Eyck and Rogier van der Weyden. These ...
where the artist seems to trace out shapes and positions, established in the preparatory sketches, onto the grounded canvas. These include squared lines around the left shoulder and chest areas. There are lines mapping out the throat and top edge of the bodice.Hale (2000), p. 206 Compared to the ''Portrait of'' , or most of 's later portraits, the background is flat and featureless, probably to place emphasis on the coat of arms.Davies (1934), p. 241 It comprises a neutral soft pale gray and evenly textured wall, with a linear structured gilded wood mouldings, and a fictitious
coat of arms A coat of arms is a heraldry, heraldic communication design, visual design on an escutcheon (heraldry), escutcheon (i.e., shield), surcoat, or tabard (the latter two being outer garments). The coat of arms on an escutcheon forms the central ele ...
combining the heraldics of the and families. The grey wall is underlined with a barely discernible deep blue pigment. This minimalist approach reflects the "ascetic elegance" of his early female portraits, where the sitter was often set against featureless backdrops. The precisely rendered details and geometric background create an impression of immobility, though subtle movement is implied by the tilt of her head and the shimmering folds of her dress. The current frame measures 157× 125.6cm at the exterior and is made of pink-orange
pine A pine is any conifer tree or shrub in the genus ''Pinus'' () of the family Pinaceae. ''Pinus'' is the sole genus in the subfamily Pinoideae. The World Flora Online created by the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Missouri Botanical Garden accep ...
,Newbery (2007), p. 344 lined with a garland of gilt-plastered ornament flowers. Its ornaments lie on ovolo molding. It was produced in the United States between 1950 and 1960 (around the time the Metropolitan acquired the work) in the French Louis XIII style fashionable in 's period. It is similar to, and probably modeled on, the frame used for , which is most likely an original and is dated 1856.Tinterow (1999), p. 452 The original plaster frame was made in 1860 at the latest, and is thought to have been similar to the current one.


Reception

The painting remained in 's possession until 1854,Naef (1966), p. 275 when it was first exhibited that December in his studio, alongside his unfinished (), ''Portrait of'' , and ''
Venus Anadyomene Venus Anadyomene (from Greek, "Venus Rising From the Sea") is one of the iconic representations of the goddess Venus (Aphrodite), made famous in a much-admired painting by Apelles, now lost, but described in Pliny's ''Natural History'', with t ...
''.Tinterow (1999), p. 451 One critic wrote that the painting showed as "refined, delicate, elegant to her finger tips... a marvelous incarnation of nobility." In general, it is held in the same high regard as 's , and ''
Portrait of Baronne de Rothschild ''Baronne de Rothschild'' is an 1848 portrait by the French Neoclassical artist Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. The sitter, Betty de Rothschild (1805–1886) had married her paternal uncle banker James Mayer de Rothschild and was one of the weal ...
''. The work was an instant critical and popular success, and widely admired and written about. Most critics understood the artfulness of physical deformations, although one writer, writing under the
byline The byline (or by-line in British English) on a newspaper or magazine article gives the name of the writer of the article. Bylines are commonly placed between the headline and the text of the article, although some magazines (notably ''Reader's D ...
A. de. G., and representing a minority, academic view, describes her as a "puny, wilted, sickly, woman; her thin arms rest on an armchair placed in front of her. M. has rendered in an unheard-of manner these large, veiled eyes, deprived of sight. He has given this face a negative expression that he must have seen in real life, and reproduced it with a sure touch." The majority of critics noted 's attention to detail in describing her clothes, accessories and decor, and saw an artist at the height of his creativity, with a few invoking the precision of van Eyck.Tinterow (1999), pp. 451–52 Some writers detected a hint of melancholy in de Broglie's eyes and expression.


References


Notes


Sources

* Betzer, Sarah. ''Ingres and the Studio: Women, Painting, History''. University Park, PA: Pennsylvania State University Press, 2002. * Brettell, Richard; Hayes Tucker, Paul; Henderson Lee, Natalie. ''The Robert Lehman Collection III. Nineteenth and Twentieth-Century Paintings''. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2009. * Davies, Martin. "An Exhibition of Portraits by Ingres and His Pupils". ''The Burlington Magazine for Connoisseurs'', volume 64, no. 374, 1934 * Hale, Charlotte; "Technical Observations". In: Bertin, Eric; Tinterow, Gary. Portraits by Ingres: Image of an Epoch': Reflections, Technical Observations, Addenda, and Corrigenda''. ''Metropolitan Museum Journal'', volume 35, 2000 * Marandel, Patrice. ''Europe in the Age of Enlightenment and Revolution''. Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1987. * McConnell, Sophie. ''Metropolitan Jewelry''. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1991 * Naef, Hans. "Eighteen Portrait Drawings by Ingres". ''Master Drawings'', volume 4, no. 3, 1966. * Newbery, Timothy. ''Frames in the Robert Lehman Collection''. NY: Metropolitan Museum of Art Publications, 2007. * Rosenblum, Robert. ''Ingres''. London: Harry N. Abrams, 1990. * Taylor, Lou. ''The Study of Dress History''. Manchester: Manchester University Press, 2002. * Tinterow, Gary. ''Portraits by Ingres: Image of an Epoch''. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1999. * Tucker, Paul. ''Nineteenth- And Twentieth-Century Paintings in The Robert Lehman Collection''. New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2009. * Wolohojian, Stephan. "A Private Passion: 19th-Century Paintings and Drawings from the Grenville L. Winthrop Collection, Harvard University". New York: Metropolitan Museum of Art, 2003.


External links


MET catalogue entry

Smarthistory video
(Khan Academy) {{DEFAULTSORT:Princesse De Broglie 1851 paintings 1853 paintings Portraits by Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres Paintings in the collection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art Portraits of women