Carmontelle
(Louis Carrogis 1717–1806)
Portrait of a Lady Seated by a Fire
Black, red, and white chalk, watercolor, with a touch of pen and black ink to accent the sitter's eye
7 9/16 x 8 9/16 inches (196 x 218 mm)
Purchased on the Walter C. Baker Fund
1981.51
Item description:
Many of Carmontelle's portraits are valuable both as aesthetic and historical documents, depicting a wide cross-section of late-eighteenth-century Parisian society. In addition to the present drawing, the artist made at least two other versions of this subject. One, a somewhat larger and less finished study, is in a private collection in Switzerland, while another remains with the sitter's family. The latter version confirms that the subject is Jeanne de Castellane-Mazaugues, who married the Marquis de Pontèves Castellane in 1778.