Marie-Suzanne Giroust (9 March 1734 — 31 August 1772), known as Madame Roslin, was a French painter, miniaturist, and pastellist, known for her

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this r ...

s. She was a member of the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture. Only a small number of her works have been identified.

Biography

Marie-Suzanne Giroust was born and lived her whole life in Paris. She was the daughter of Barthélemy Giroust, Jeweller to the King's Wardrobe (d. 1741) and Marie Suzanne Le Roy (d. 1745). Orphaned at an early age, she was raised by relatives. She studied art under

Maurice Quentin de La Tour Maurice Quentin de La Tour (5 September 1704 – 17 February 1788) was a French Rococo portraitist who worked primarily with pastels. Among his most famous subjects were Voltaire, Rousseau, Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour. Biography Maurice ...

and then of

Joseph-Marie Vien Joseph-Marie Vien (sometimes anglicised as Joseph-Mary Wien; 18 June 1716 – 27 March 1809) was a French painter. He was the last holder of the post of Premier peintre du Roi, serving from 1789 to 1791. Biography He was born in Montpellier ...

. The teachings of Vien, in particular, affected her own art greatly. Giroust was active as an artist from the 1750s. She met the Swedish artist

Alexander Roslin Alexander Roslin (spelled Alexandre in French, ; 15 July 17185 July 1793) was a Swedish portrait painter who worked in Scania, Bayreuth, Paris, Italy, Warsaw and St. Petersburg, primarily for members of aristocratic families. He combined insigh ...

at Vien's studio in 1752. She wished to marry him, but was prevented by her guardian and family, who disliked Roslin because he was poor and a Protestant. After rejecting the suitors suggested by her guardian, she was allowed to marry Roslin after mediation from Roslin's patron, the Comte de Caylus. The marriage occurred on 5 January 1759, with the Swedish ambassador as a witness. The couple had three daughters and three sons. Giroust was a pastel painter. Her husband once estimated that she was a better pastellist than he was. In 1770, Giroust was admitted to the Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture in Paris. She was one of only fifteen women to be accepted as full academicians in the 145-year history of the institution. Her

reception piece In art, a reception piece is a work submitted by an artist to an academy for approval as part of the requirements for admission to membership. The piece is normally representative of the artist's work, and the organization's judgement of its skil ...

, ''Portrait of the Sculptor

Jean-Baptiste Pigalle Jean-Baptiste Pigalle (26 January 1714 – 20 August 1785) was a French sculptor. Life Pigalle was born in Paris, the seventh child of a carpenter. Although he failed to obtain the ''Prix de Rome'', after a severe struggle he entered the ''Ac ...

'' (1770), was praised by

Denis Diderot Denis Diderot (; ; 5 October 171331 July 1784) was a French philosopher, art critic, and writer, best known for serving as co-founder, chief editor, and contributor to the '' Encyclopédie'' along with Jean le Rond d'Alembert. He was a promi ...

in 1771 for its "beautiful and strong colors." Giroust served as a model for ''La Dame au voile'' (''The Lady with the Veil'') (1768), painted by her husband. She also appears in Alexander Roslin's group portrait ''The Artist and His Wife Marie-Suzanne Giroust Portraying Henrik Wilhelm Peill'' (1767). Marie-Suzanne Giroust died of

breast cancer Breast cancer is cancer that develops from breast tissue. Signs of breast cancer may include a lump in the breast, a change in breast shape, dimpling of the skin, milk rejection, fluid coming from the nipple, a newly inverted nipple, or a r ...

in 1772, aged 38.

Notable works

* ''Self-Portrait with Her Teacher, Maurice Quentin de La Tour'' (ca. 1760; private collection) * ''Portrait of Henrik Vilhelm Peill'' (1766; private collection) * ''Portrait of Jacques Dumont "le Romain"'' (ca. 1770–71; Musée national des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon) * ''Portrait of the Sculptor Jean-Baptiste Pigalle'' (1771; Paris, Louvre) * ''Portrait of

Marie-Joseph Peyre Marie-Joseph Peyre (1730 – 11 August 1785) was a French architect who designed in the Neoclassical style. Biography He began his training in Paris with Jacques-François Blondel at l'École des Arts, where he met Giovanni Niccolo Servan ...

'' (1771; Stockholm, Nationalmuseum)

Gallery

Roslin, Marie-Suzanne - Selfportrait - c. 1775.jpg, ''Self-Portrait with Her Teacher, Maurice Quentin de La Tour'' (ca. 1760) Alexandre_Antoine_Roslin_(1764-1799),_g.m._Adela%C3%AFde_Abraham,_son_till_konstn%C3%A4ren_(Suzanne_Roslin)_-_Nationalmuseum_-_52668.tif, ''Portrait of Alexandre Antoine Roslin'' (ca. 1764–65) Roslin, Marie-Suzanne - Jean-Baptiste Pigalle - 18th century.jpg, ''Portrait of the Sculptor Jean-Baptiste Pigalle'' (1770) Marie-Joseph Peyre, 1730–1785 (Suzanne Roslin) - Nationalmuseum - 132640.tif, ''Portrait of Marie-Joseph Peyre'' (1771) Augustine-Suzanne_Roslin_(1760-1831),_g.m_-_Nationalmuseum_-_52667.tif, ''Portrait of Augustine-Suzanne Roslin'' (1771)

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Giroust, Mariesuzanne 1734 births 1772 deaths French women painters Deaths from breast cancer Deaths from cancer in France Painters from Paris Pastel artists 18th-century French painters 18th-century French women artists