Attributed to Louis HERSENT (Paris, 1777-1860) - Lot 139

Attributed to Louis HERSENT (Paris, 1777-1860) Portrait of Marie-Amélie de Bourbon, Princess of the Two Sicilies, last Queen of the French, depicted at mid-body, wearing a turban and a black silk dress with lace collar and gigot sleeves (1777-1847) bearing the order of Queen Marie-Louise. circa 1840 Oil on canvas. 140.5 x 115.5 cm (lining; wear and restoration). 3 000/4 000 Our painting, dating from the 1840s, is probably a portrait of Marie-Amélie de Bourbon-Siciles (1782-1866), Queen of the French and wife of Louis-Philippe I, depicted in the final years of the July Monarchy. A discreet but central figure in the Orléans dynasty, Marie-Amélie was a pious, dignified queen, deeply attached to her family, of which she was the moral pillar. Far removed from direct political intrigue, she nonetheless played an essential role in balancing the regime, supporting her husband in times of trial and helping to give the July monarchy the image of a power that no longer asserted itself through magnificence, but through morality and stability. Numerous paintings depict her at the heart of the royal family and power, alongside the king and his children, as illustrated by several works including the one conserved at Versailles, Musée National du Château et de Trianon (La reine Marie-Amélie avec ses plus jeunes fils, les ducs de Montpensier et d'Aumale, inv. 5208), where her image is inseparable from that of the July monarchy and its official representation. Probably depicted in one of the ceremonial apartments of the Tuileries palace, where the royal family resided until the Revolution, the queen appears comfortably seated on a meridienne with crook-shaped armrests, set against a red damask background. Dressed in the latest fashion, she sports a black silk gown with so-called "gigot" sleeves, whose belted waist highlights the medal of the Order of Queen Marie-Louise, founded in 1792, and of which she was 107ᵉ dame. In this portrait, the softness of her features brings out the characteristic sparkle of her blue eyes. Her face is framed by chestnut-blond hair, held back under a muslin turban adorned with bangs of gold braid, a hairstyle known from numerous engravings. The ermine mantle on the meridian on the right of the composition draws the eye: a symbol par excellence of royalty, it reminds the viewer of the model's membership of the reigning dynasty and the dignity of his rank. Remarkably well executed, our portrait bears witness to the prestige and restraint that characterized official representations of the House of Orléans. The portrait is attributed to Louis Hersent, an artist closely associated with the court of Louis-Philippe, for both its craftsmanship and the sensitivity of its composition. Hersent, a painter of power and sentiment, infuses his effigies with a romantic gentleness. The portrait of Madame Jean-Charles Clarmont at the Musée national du Château et de Trianon in Versailles (inv. MV 8387) and that of Princess Natalia Golitsina at the Pushkin Museum in Moscow (inv. 810) are particularly close in technique to our work. In addition to the very similar positions of the models, the excellence of the brushwork in rendering the materials easily links our composition to the artist's corpus. Queen Marie-Amélie was a discreet, virtuous and maternal queen, known for her femininity without excessive ostentation. The only jewel she wears here catches the eye: a brooch made of sapphires and pearls, stitched into the fine lace of her wide collar in the center of her chest, evoking the numerous commissions the queen placed with the house of Mellerio, her regular jeweler. The imposing format of our work, and the remarkable quality of its execution, place our canvas in the great tradition of official portraiture, while at the same time revealing a certain intimacy: that of a cultured woman, aware of her rank, whose gaze suggests finesse and depth of mind. The sobriety of the dress and the peaceful posture reflect a political will: to expose a monarchy close to bourgeois values, founded on respectability, restraint and family. Marie-Amélie, last Queen of the French, died in 1866 at the age of 84, after sharing her family's exile following the 1848 Revolution.