Rare pair of oval plaques painted on porcelain, signed on the right "Sophie Liénard", representing the king and queen of the French in bust, three-quarters on the right, inspired by the portraits in feet of Franz-Xaver Winterhalter kept at the Palace of Versailles , with slight variations.
Most likely by the manufacture Rihouët & Lerosey (1824-1853), Paris, around 1845 (without visible mark).
Preserved in their original rectangular frames trimmed with brown velvet and copper ornaments.
Good condition.
Plates: H. 13.5 x L. 11 cm.
Frames: H. 23 x L. 18 cm.
Cadres : H. 23 x L. 18 cm.
- Fondation Napoléon.
- Sale "From the Fondation Napoléon", Artcurial, December 9, 2019, lot 266.
- An oval porcelain plaque depicting King Louis-Philippe by Sophie Liénard, a slight variant of our model, is kept at the Saint Louis Art Museum, Missouri (United States).
- An oval porcelain plaque depicting Queen Marie-Amélie by Sophie Liénard, a slight variant of our model, signed by Lerosey on the back, sold at Christie's London, May 25, 2004, lot 46 (GBP 12.548).
- Other oval porcelain plaques by Sophie Liénard, depicting the King, Queen, Duke and Duchess of Orleans, preserved in gilt bronze frames and from the Lawrence sale of 1914, are today preserved in private collections.
Sophie Liénard is a miniaturist painter working on porcelain, established in Paris, at 41 rue de Meslay, and mainly active between 1842 and 1845. Many of her portraits are marked on the reverse by the Rihouët & Lerosey factory, 11 rue de la Paix. His production is characterized by an extreme finesse in the mastery of this delicate technique of painting on porcelain where the vibrant colors give each of his portraits a humanity and a transcendent presence. Sophie Liénard exhibited at the Salon in 1841, 1842 and 1845 by presenting in particular, in 1845, the portrait of the chamberlain of SS Gregory XVI, but it is especially through the orders of Orléans and then of Bonapartes that she distinguished herself. with panache. Our pair of large-format portraits is one of the most famous examples, especially as the artist allows himself some freedom from the usual portraits of Winterhalter.
