''La Belle Strasbourgeoise'' (''The Beautiful Strasbourg Woman'') is a 1703
painting
Painting is the practice of applying paint, pigment, color or other medium to a solid surface (called the "matrix" or "support"). The medium is commonly applied to the base with a brush, but other implements, such as knives, sponges, and ...
by the
French painter
Nicolas de Largillière
Nicolas de Largillière (; 10 October 1656 – 20 March 1746) was a French portrait painter, born in Paris.
Biography
Early life
Largillière's father, a merchant, took him to Antwerp at the age of three. As a boy, he spent nearly two years in ...
. It is now in the
Musée des Beaux-Arts of
Strasbourg
Strasbourg (, , ; german: Straßburg ; gsw, label=Bas Rhin Alsatian, Strossburi , gsw, label=Haut Rhin Alsatian, Strossburig ) is the prefecture and largest city of the Grand Est region of eastern France and the official seat of the Eu ...
, France. Its inventory number is 2146.
Description and history
''La Belle Strasbourgeoise'' 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
The bourgeoisie ( , ) is a social class, equivalent to the middle or upper middle class. They are distinguished from, and traditionally contrasted with, the proletariat by their affluence, and their great cultural and financial capital. They ...
'', or a young
Paris
Paris () is the capital and most populous city of France, with an estimated population of 2,165,423 residents in 2019 in an area of more than 105 km² (41 sq mi), making it the 30th most densely populated city in the world in 2020. S ...
ian 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
Patriarchy is a social system in which positions of dominance and privilege are primarily held by men. It is used, both as a technical anthropological term for families or clans controlled by the father or eldest male or group of males a ...
between 1688 and 1730.
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
Ange-Laurent de La Live de Jully (2 October 1725 – 18 March 1779) was an 18th-century French financier and patron of arts.
On 30 June 1741, he married Louise-Elisabeth Chambon, reputed to be more than promiscuous. Madame d'Épinay tells us she ...
, then to
César Gabriel de Choiseul
César Gabriel de Choiseul, duc de Praslin (, 15 August 1712 – 15 November 1785) was a French officer, diplomat and statesman.
On 30 April 1732, he married Anne Marie de Champagne de Villaines de la Suze.
After having served in the Army, he w ...
, and later to
François Coty
François Coty (born Joseph Marie François Spoturno in Corsica ; 3 May 1874 – 25 July 1934) was a French perfumer, businessman, newspaper publisher, politician and patron of the arts. He was the founder of the Coty perfume company, today a ...
; in the interval, it had also hung in the
Château de Bussy-Rabutin
The Château de Bussy-Rabutin, also known as Château de Bussy-le-Grand, is a ''château'' which developed from a 12th-century castle, located in the commune of Bussy-le-Grand, in the Côte-d'Or department, Bourgogne, eastern France.
Histor ...
. 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
Rothschild () is a name derived from the German ''zum rothen Schild'' (with the old spelling "th"), meaning "with the red sign", in reference to the houses where these family members lived or had lived. At the time, houses were designated by sign ...
(1913–1995), and a public
subscription
The subscription business model is a business model in which a customer must pay a recurring price at regular intervals for access to a product or service. The model was pioneered by publishers of books and periodicals in the 17th century, and ...
, was successful.
The painting was bought at
Sotheby's
Sotheby's () is a British-founded American multinational corporation with headquarters in New York City. It is one of the world's largest brokers of fine and decorative art, jewellery, and collectibles. It has 80 locations in 40 countries, and ...
in London on 3 July 1963 for the then very considerable sum of 145,000
British pound
Sterling (abbreviation: stg; Other spelling styles, such as STG and Stg, are also seen. ISO code: GBP) is the currency of the United Kingdom and nine of its associated territories. The pound ( sign: £) is the main unit of sterling, and t ...
s (), or 1,999,000
French franc
The franc (, ; sign: F or Fr), also commonly distinguished as the (FF), was a currency of France. Between 1360 and 1641, it was the name of coins worth 1 livre tournois and it remained in common parlance as a term for this amount of money. It w ...
s 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 – , 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
''Nouveau riche'' (; ) is a term used, usually in a derogatory way, to describe those whose wealth has been acquired within their own generation, rather than by familial inheritance. The equivalent English term is the "new rich" or "new money" ( ...
''", etc. In 1967, Heitz painted a bitter
parody
A parody, also known as a spoof, a satire, a send-up, a take-off, a lampoon, a play on (something), or a caricature, is a creative work designed to imitate, comment on, and/or mock its subject by means of satiric or ironic imitation. Often its subj ...
of the portrait, called ''La Vieille Strasbourgeoise'' (The Old Strasbourg Woman).
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
Christie's is a British auction house founded in 1766 by James Christie (auctioneer), James Christie. Its main premises are on King Street, St James's in London, at Rockefeller Center in New York City and at Alexandra House in Hong Kong. It is ...
in Paris for 1,570,000
Euro
The euro ( symbol: €; code: EUR) is the official currency of 19 out of the member states of the European Union (EU). This group of states is known as the eurozone or, officially, the euro area, and includes about 340 million citizens . ...
, well above the estimated price. The canvas had belonged to
Paul-Louis Weiller
Paul-Louis Weiller (September 29, 1893, Paris - December 6, 1993, Geneva) was a French industrialist and philanthropist.
Biography
From a Jewish Alsatian family, Weiller was the son of the industrialist and politician Lazare Weiller (1858–1928 ...
, who had bought it in London in 1967. The new private owner is said to be "from
Asia
Asia (, ) is one of the world's most notable geographical regions, which is either considered a continent in its own right or a subcontinent of Eurasia, which shares the continental landmass of Afro-Eurasia with Africa. Asia covers an area ...
".
See also
*
La Belle Strasbourgeoise (beer)
References
External links
''La Belle Strasbourgeoise'' presentation on the museum's website
Une visite, un thème - Peinture du XVIIème siècle - 5 genres p. 2. Different presentation on the museum's website.
{{DEFAULTSORT:Belle Strasbourgeoise
Paintings in the collection of the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg
1703 works
1700s paintings
Paintings by Nicolas de Largillière
Dogs in art
1700s fashion
Oil on canvas paintings
Costumes