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 from Renaissance art, usually executed in gouache, Watercolor painting, watercolor, or Vitreous enamel, enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illumin ...

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, brother of the journalist Jean-Baptiste Esménard and the father of the artists Inès Esménard and Nathalie Elma d'Esménard. Biography In 1790, a ye ...

and Jeanne Adolphine de Kalkräber. 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 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

Salon of 1819 The Salon of 1819 was an art exhibition held at the Louvre in Paris between 25 August and 30 September 1819. It was the largest Salon to be staged since the fall of Napoleon. It took place during the Restoration era with Louis XVIII on the thron ...

, 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 Catherine-Joséphine Duchesnois, née Rafin, often simply called Mademoiselle Duchesnois, (1777–1835) was a classical French actress who performed at the Comédie-Française. She was also one of Napoleon's mistresses. Early life Born on 5 June ...

in the role of

Electra Electra, also spelt Elektra (; ; ), is one of the most popular Greek mythology, mythological characters in tragedies.Evans (1970), p. 79 She is the main character in two Greek tragedies, ''Electra (Sophocles play), Electra'' by Sophocles and ''Ele ...

, the latter painted for the art collector Count Nikolai Nikitich Demidov. She also showed portraits of

Pierre-Joseph Redouté Pierre-Joseph Redouté (, 10 July 1759 – 19 June 1840), was a Painting, painter and botanist from the Austrian Netherlands, known for his watercolours of roses, lily, lilies and other flowers at the Château de Malmaison, many of which we ...

, her sister's teacher, and of both

Napoleon Bonaparte Napoleon Bonaparte (born Napoleone di Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French general and statesman who rose to prominence during the French Revolution and led Military career ...

and his brother

Joseph Joseph is a common male name, derived from the Hebrew (). "Joseph" is used, along with " Josef", mostly in English, French and partially German languages. This spelling is also found as a variant in the languages of the modern-day Nordic count ...

. 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 François-Joseph Navez (16 November 1787 in Charleroi – 12 October 1869 in Brussels) was a Belgian Neoclassicism, Neoclassical painter; known for his portraits and Genre art, genre scenes. Biography As the son of an alderman, in a privileged f ...

, 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 Sydney, Lady Morgan (; – 14 April 1859), was an Irish novelist, best known for '' The Wild Irish Girl'' (1806)'','' a romantic, and some critics suggest, "proto-feminist", novel with political and patriotic overtones. Her work, including co ...

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