Exhibitions in Paris galleries: Bordes, Poncelin de Raucourt, Néouze

25/11/23 - Art market - Paris - "A woman with a fan is stronger than a man with a sword", as Anne-Françoise-Hippolyte Boutet, known as Mademoiselle Mars, liked to say. The famous actress was portrayed by the greatest artists, from François Gérard to David d’Angers. Louis Hersent, in a portrait painted around 1820, gives her a mischievous air worthy of Célimène, whom she played in The Misanthrope (ill.1)

1. Louis Hersent (1777-1860)
Presumed portrait of Anne Françoise Hippolyte Boutet, known as Mademoiselle Mars (1779-1847), member of the Comédie-française, c. 1820
Oil on canvas - 61 x 50 cm
Paris, Galerie Alexis Bordes
Photo: Galerie Alexis Bordes

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She seems to be standing in a landscape, with a restless sky highlighting her ivory complexion and reminding us that she played in early Romantic dramas. Her small notebook no doubt allows her to rehearse a role. Dressed in the latest fashion, she wears an organza gown embellished with lace on the bosom and transparent gauze for the sleeves. Her hair is pulled up into a bun with a golden ribbon, from which curls protrude. The cashmere shawl was an indispensable - and expensive - accessory for elegant women under the Consulate and Empire. Far beyond fashion, Mademoiselle Mars remained loyal to Napoleon to the end, and wore violets on her bodice to mark her opposition to the "lily party".
A pupil of David and Regnault, Hersent made his mark in the grand genre of history painting, but was also a sought-after portraitist of high society. He was influenced by Baron Gérard, whose name was inscribed on the stretcher of the portrait of Mademoiselle Mars. In 1821, he married Louise Mauduit, with whom he opened a studio for women.
This portrait can be seen at Galerie Alexis Bordes, which is staging a new exhibition on rue de la Paix on the theme of "Idealized everyday life, from the century of Enlightenment to the Restoration", featuring works by Boucher, Demachy and Chinard. By…