Inès Esménard (1789–1859), sometimes known as Inès d’Esménard, was a 19th century French painter and

portrait miniaturist A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century el ...

Biography

Inès Esménard was born in Paris, one of three daughters of the poet

Joseph-Alphonse Esménard Joseph-Alphonse Esménard (1770, in Pélissanne – 25 June 1811, in Fondi) was a French poet and the brother of the journalist Jean-Baptiste Esménard and father of the artists Inès Esménard and Nathalie Elma d'Esménard. Biography In 1790 ...

and Jeanne Adolphine Kalegraber. Her father, a royalist, spent a good deal of her early childhood in exile due to the French Revolution but returned to France when Napoleon rose to power. Her sisters were Nathalie, who became a botanical artist, and Atala, and her uncle was the journalist

Jean-Baptiste Esménard Jean-Baptiste Esménard (1772–1842) was a French journalist during the Napoleonic era. He was brother to the poet Joseph-Alphonse Esménard and uncle of the artists Inès Esménard and Nathalie Elma d'Esménard. Life At age 20, Esménard was ...

. In addition to being painter, she was a musician and spoke several languages besides French, including English and Spanish. Esménard studied painting with Jean-François Colson and Jean-Pierre Franque and miniature painting with Jean-François Hollier. She showed actively in the

Paris Salons The Salon (french: Salon), or rarely Paris Salon (French: ''Salon de Paris'' ), beginning in 1667 was the official art exhibition of the Académie des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Between 1748 and 1890 it was arguably the greatest annual or biennial art ...

from 1814 to 1851, exhibiting many portraits with anonymized titles (e.g. ''Portrait of Mme. L'', 1834), but she also painted a number of notable figures of her time. In the 1819 Salon, where she was awarded a second prize medal, she showed miniatures of two well-known French actors:

Mademoiselle Mars Mademoiselle Mars (pseudonym of Anne Françoise Hyppolyte Boutet Salvetat; 9 February 1779 – 20 March 1847), French actress, was born in Paris, the natural daughter of the actor-author named Monvel (Jacques Marie Boutet) (1745–1812) and Jean ...

and Joséphine Duchesnois in the role of

Electra Electra (; grc, Ήλέκτρα) is one of the most popular mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, '' Electra'' by Sophocles and '' Electra'' by Euripides. She is also the centra ...

, the latter painted for the art collector Count Nikolai Nikitich Demidov. She also showed portraits of Pierre-Joseph Redouté, her sister's teacher, and of both

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

and his brother Joseph. She produced various works inspired by Daniel Auber's opera ''Leicester, or the Chateau of Kénilworth'', which premiered in Paris in 1823. Critics tended to speak of her work with moderate praise, referring to it as graceful, pretty, solidly painted, and well colored.''Journal des artistes: annonce et compte rendu des ouvrages de peinture, sculpture, architecture, gravure, lithographie, poésie, musique et art dramatique'', Year 7, vol. 1, no. 17, Paris, April 28, 1833 .''Journal des artistes: annonce et compte rendu des ouvrages de peinture, sculpture, architecture, gravure, lithographie, poésie, musique et art dramatique'', Year 9, vol. 1, no. 17, Paris, April 26, 1835 . There are several portraits of Esménard in existence. One was painted by Jean-François Hollier when she was his student, and another by François-Joseph Navez, who painted all three Esménard sisters in 1815. There are two lithographs by Dominique Vivant Denon, one a group portrait (''The Delights of the Country'') that includes Esménard along with the novelist Sydney, Lady Morgan and the other a profile of Esménard seated and reading, with an easel and canvas behind her. There is also an Esménard self-portrait of 1839.Émile Bellier de La Chavignerie and Louis Auvray, ''Dictionnaire général des artistes de l'École française depuis l'origine des arts du dessin jusqu'à nos jours: architectes, peintres, sculpteurs, graveurs et lithographes'', vol. 1, 1882-1885, .Adolphe Siret, ''Dictionnaire historique et raisonné des peintres de toutes les écoles depuis l'origine de la peinture jusqu'à nos jours'', vol. 1, 1883 .

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Esmenard, Ines French women painters 1789 births 1859 deaths Miniature painting 19th-century French women artists French portrait painters Painters from Paris