Adrienne Marie Louise Grandpierre-Deverzy (1798–1869) - Portrait de Dame au Jardin

Adrienne Marie Louise Grandpierre-Deverzy (1798–1869)

Portrait of a Lady in the Garden — 1846

Technical data

Artist: Adrienne Marie Louise Grandpierre-Deverzy (Tonnerre, 1798 – Paris, 1869)
Proposed title: Portrait de dame au jardin / Portrait of a Lady with a Garden in the Background
School: French
Period: French Romanticism / Academic painting of the July Monarchy
Chronology: circa 1840
Technique: oil on canvas
Signature: signed in the lower left corner, apparently “Mlle Grandpierre”
Date: inscription dated, seemingly read as 1840
Canvas dimensions: 61 × 50 cm
Overall dimensions with frame: 86 × 73 cm
Subject: full-length portrait of a woman indoors opening onto a landscape
Frame: important gilded historicist frame, richly ornamented with vegetal, floral motifs and Rocaille inspiration

Reverse: preserves a partially legible stamp from a Parisian canvas supplier, related to rue de l’Arbre-Sec

Condition: Shows visible restorations.
Conservation compatible with its age, with craquelure and signs typical of a mid-19th-century painting. Please study the photographs closely, which are part of the description.
Description

Delicate and elegant French mid-19th-century female portrait, attributed by signature to Adrienne Marie Louise Grandpierre-Deverzy, a singular figure in French painting of Romanticism and one of the professional women artists active in Paris during the first half of the 19th century.

The sitter is depicted full-length, dressed in black with a delicate white and blue cap. The sobriety of the attire deliberately contrasts with the large crimson drapery that organizes the background and with the garden’s brightness opening to the right of the composition.

The painter thus constructs an image balanced between representative portraiture and a deeply domestic intimacy. There is no unnecessary ostentation: it is the model’s posture, the quality of her hands, the delicacy of the face, and the objects that accompany her that articulate her social position.

A particularly charming detail is the straw hat placed on the seat, accompanied by white and blue ribbons. This seemingly everyday detail introduces spontaneity into a carefully conceived composition and visually links the figure to the exterior landscape.

The alternation between interior and nature is fundamental. On the left we find the domestic shadows, with a table covered by decorative fabric and a vase; behind the sitter unfolds the large crimson drapery; finally, the composition opens onto a garden of soft greens and a blue sky. The result possesses that combination of academic precision, romantic sensitivity, and intimate observation characteristic of French portraiture of the period.

The execution of the face deserves particular attention. The complexion is built with soft transitions, with a frontal, serene gaze of notable psychological presence. The hands, the cap, the lace at the neck, and the small jewels are treated with restrained precision that avoids purely decorative virtuosity.

The artist

Adrienne Marie Louise Grandpierre-Deverzy was a pupil and later collaborator of Abel de Pujol, who had himself been trained by Jacques-Louis David. She built a considerable public career for a woman artist of her generation: she debuted at the Paris Salon in 1822 and received a third-class medal in 1836.

Her production includes history painting, interior scenes, and portraits. Grandpierre-Deverzy’s works are currently held in French institutions; the Louvre records her monumental scene of Christina of Sweden and Monaldeschi, dated 1824 and deposited in Fontainebleau, while the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Valenciennes houses her Intérieur de l'atelier d'Abel de Pujol from 1836.

Her portraiture is also documented. Female portraits known from 1823, 1830, and during the 1840s are known, a circumstance that makes the work presented here particularly interesting within her known body of work.

Signature and materials

The inscription on the bottom is one of the painting’s most appealing features. It can be read as “Mlle Grandpierre,” followed by a date that appears to correspond to 1840. The use of Mlle is historically coherent with the artist’s biography during this period, prior to her marriage to Abel de Pujol in 1856.

Equally significant is the stamp on the back of the canvas. Although partly hidden and worn, it allows recognition of references to a Parisian establishment and to the rue de l’Arbre-Sec, known for housing suppliers of materials for artists. This information should be understood as a supplementary material element and not as an independent certification of authorship.

Taken together, we are looking at a French portrait of considerable elegance, magnificent decorative presence, and great historical interest, signed, dated, and accompanied by material details especially suggestive for study of the work and of Grandpierre-Deverzy’s career.

Shipping: the work will be professionally packed in a custom-made crate with foam protections. We ship internationally. Given the dimensions and characteristics of the piece, any potential extra costs for oversized shipments or destinations outside the European Union will be borne by the buyer.

Frame: the frame is included as a gift with the work and, by virtue of its antique and ornamental nature, will not be subject to claims.