La Belle Strasbourgeoise

La Belle Strasbourgeoise (The Beautiful Strasbourg Woman) is a 1703 painting by the French painter Nicolas de Largillière. It is now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts of Strasbourg, France. Its inventory number is 2146.[1]

La Belle Strasbourgeoise
English: The Beautiful Strasbourg Woman
ArtistNicolas de Largillière
Year1703
Mediumoil painting on canvas
MovementBaroque painting
Portrait painting
Animal painting
SubjectA young woman with an Alsatian costume holding a Cavalier King Charles Spaniel
Dimensions138 cm × 106 cm (54 in × 42 in)[1]
LocationMusée des Beaux-Arts, Strasbourg
Accession1963

It is the most famous of the circa 1,500 (!) portrait paintings by Largillière, and arguably the most iconic work in the Strasbourg museum. The identity of the depicted woman is unknown: she may be someone from the Strasbourg bourgeoisie, or a young Parisian in disguise (Strasbourg had become part of France only 22 years prior, in 1681), or the painter's own sister, Marie Elisabeth de Largillière. The costume she is wearing was fashionable in the Strasbourg patriarchy between 1688 and 1730.[2][1]

The painting had always enjoyed the highest esteem. The list of its former owners is prestigious: it had belonged to Ange Laurent Lalive de Jully, then to César Gabriel de Choiseul, and later to François Coty; in the interval, it had also hung in the Château de Bussy-Rabutin. The Strasbourg museums tried to acquire it in 1936, but did not succeed; in 1963, a second effort, with the help of Cécile de Rothschild (1913–1995), and a public subscription, was successful.[1][3]

The painting was bought at Sotheby's in London on 3 July 1963 for the then very considerable sum of 145,000 British pounds (equivalent to £3,058,640 in 2019), or 1,999,000 French francs at the time. The museum finally paid 1,725,500 French francs, thanks to a deduction agreed by the owner, Violet Leah Fitzgerald, and Sotheby's. It was still the highest price paid by a French museum for the purchase of a work of art until that date. Not everybody in Strasbourg was enthusiastic – Robert Heitz, a local politician who was also a noted painter, called it "a fake masterpiece", "the too beautiful and too costly Strasbourg Woman", "a sugary painting with the elegance of a retouched photo, mostly suited for the taste of nouveaux riches", etc. In 1967, Heitz painted a bitter parody of the portrait, called La Vieille Strasbourgeoise (The Old Strasbourg Woman).[3][4][5]

Second version

A second and almost identical version of the painting, probably painted at the same time, was sold on 15 September 2020 at Christie's in Paris for 1.570.000 Euro, well above the estimated price. The canvas had belonged to Paul-Louis Weiller, who had bought it in London in 1967. The new private owner is said to be "from Asia".[6][7]

References
  1. Jacquot, Dominique (2006). Le musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg. Cinq siècles de peinture. Strasbourg: Musées de Strasbourg. pp. 138–139. ISBN 2-901833-78-0.
  2. Breton, Jean-Jacques; Williate, Dominique (March 2011). Trésors insolites des musées de France. Flammarion. p. 164–165. ISBN 9782081242692.
  3. Jacquot, Dominique (October 2009). Hans Haug, homme de musées. Une passion à l'oeuvre. Strasbourg: Musées de la ville de Strasbourg. pp. 122–128. ISBN 978-2-35125-071-6.
  4. "Mrs Mozelle Sassoon (1872–1964)". The National Gallery. Retrieved 13 August 2020.
  5. "La Vieille Strasbourgeoise". navigart.fr/mamcs. Retrieved 18 September 2020.
  6. "La Belle Strasbourgeoise acquise pour 1 570 000 euros !". Les Dernières Nouvelles d'Alsace. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
  7. "Le tableau jumeau de La Belle Strasbourgeoise vendu aux enchères pour 1,57 million d'euros chez Christie's à Paris". France 3 Alsace. Retrieved 15 September 2020.
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