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 sheet

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, apparently 1840
Canvas size: 61 × 50 cm
Overall size with frame: 86 × 73 cm
Subject: full-length female portrait indoors opening onto a landscape
Frame: substantial gilded frame in historicist taste, richly ornamented with vegetal, floral motifs and Rococo-inspired details

Reverse: bears the partially legible stamp of a Parisian canvas supplier, related to rue de l'Arbre-Sec

Condition: Shows visible restorations.
Conservation consistent with its age, with craquelure and signs typical of a mid-19th-century painting. See the photographs carefully, which form 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 Romantic painting and one of the professional female artists active in early 19th-century Paris.

The sitter appears depicted full-length, rigorously dressed in black and wearing a delicate white and blue coif. 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.

Thus the painter constructs an image in balance between a representation portrait and a deeply domestic intimacy. There is no unnecessary ostentation: it is the model’s pose, the quality of her hands, the delicacy of the face, and the accompanying objects that articulate her social position.

Especially charming is the straw hat placed on the seat, accompanied by white and blue ribbons. This seemingly ordinary detail introduces spontaneity into a carefully conceived composition and visually establishes a link between the figure and the exterior landscape.

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

The execution of the face deserves particular attention. The complexion is built through subtle transitions, with a frontal and serene gaze of notable psychological presence. The hands, the coif, the neckline lace, 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 in turn had trained with Jacques-Louis David. She developed 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 historical painting, interior scenes, and portraits. Works by Grandpierre-Deverzy are currently conserved in French institutions; the Louvre houses her monumental scene of Christina of Sweden and Monaldeschi, dated 1824 and deposited at Fontainebleau, while the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Valenciennes preserves her Intérieur de l'atelier d'Abel de Pujol of 1836.

Her portraiture is likewise documented. Female portraits dated in 1823, 1830, and during the 1840s are known, a circumstance that makes the work presented here particularly interesting within her known production.

Signature and materials

The lower inscription is one of the most attractive points of the painting. One can discern “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 reverse of the canvas. Although partially hidden and worn, it allows recognition of references to a Parisian establishment and to rue de l'Arbre-Sec, known for housing suppliers of materials for artists. This information should be understood as a complementary 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 the study of the work and of Grandpierre-Deverzy’s career.

Shipping: the work will be professionally packed in a bespoke wooden crate with foam protections. We offer international shipping. Given the dimensions and characteristics of the work, any surcharges for oversized format 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, due to its antique and ornamental nature, will not be subject to complaint.