Marie-Maximilienne de Silvestre (1708–1798) was a French painter. Born in

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 ...

, Marie-Maximilienne was the daughter of

Louis Louis may refer to: * Louis (coin) * Louis (given name), origin and several individuals with this name * Louis (surname) * Louis (singer), Serbian singer * HMS ''Louis'', two ships of the Royal Navy See also Derived or associated terms * Lewis (d ...

and

Marie-Catherine Silvestre Marie-Catherine Silvestre, born Marie-Catherine Hérault (1680–1743) was a French painter. Born in Paris, Silvestre was the daughter of Charles-Antoine Hérault and his wife Marie-Geneviève, who were her first teachers. In 1706 she married th ...

, and from youth was taught by them. Soon she was active copying her father's works in

pastel A pastel () is an art medium in a variety of forms including a stick, a square a pebble or a pan of color; though other forms are possible; they consist of powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are similar to those use ...

. She then became drawing teacher and ''lectrice'' to Maria Josepha of Saxony; when the latter became Dauphin and traveled to France in 1747, de Silvestre was the only one of her servants permitted to come along; she received praise for her counsel from

Maurice of Saxony Maurice (21 March 1521 – 9 July 1553) was Duke (1541–47) and later Elector (1547–53) of Saxony. His clever manipulation of alliances and disputes gained the Albertine branch of the Wettin dynasty extensive lands and the electoral dignity. ...

, and kept the court in

Dresden Dresden (, ; Upper Saxon: ''Dräsdn''; wen, label=Upper Sorbian, Drježdźany) is the capital city of the German state of Saxony and its second most populous city, after Leipzig. It is the 12th most populous city of Germany, the fourth larg ...

abreast of Maria's health and events in her life. She also introduced the work of

Pietro Rotari Pietro Antonio Rotari (30 September 1707 – 31 August 1762) was an Italian painter of the Baroque period. Born in Verona, he led a peripatetic career, and died in Saint Petersburg, where he had traveled to paint for the Russian court. His portr ...

to the Dauphine. De Silvestre died in

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

in 1798.Profile
at the ''Dictionary of Pastellists Before 1800''.

References

1708 births 1798 deaths French women painters 18th-century French painters 18th-century French women artists Painters from Paris Pastel artists {{France-painter-18thC-stub