François GÉRARD - Lot 107

Lot n° 107
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Estimation :
800000 - 1000000 EUR
François GÉRARD - Lot 107
François GÉRARD (Rome 1770 - Paris 1837) Portrait of the Duchess of Bassano Canvas 227 x 147 cm Unframed Provenance : Collection of Hugues Bernard Maret, 1st Duke of Bassano until 1839; Collection of his son Napoléon Joseph Hugues Maret, 2nd Duke of Bassano, until 1898; Collection of Napoléon Hugues Marie Maret, 3rd Duke of Bassano, until 1906; Still in the model's family. Bibliography: H. Gérard, Liste des portraits recensés en 1847 - 1886, reprinted in X. Salmon, catalog of the exhibition Peintre des rois, roi des peintres - François Gérard portraitiste, Fontainebleau - Paris, 2014, p. 231. Marie - Madeleine Maret (Dijon 1780 - Paris 1827) was the daughter of Martin Lejéas, mayor of Dijon, and Philiberte Naigeon. In 1801, she married her cousin Hugues Bernard Maret (1763 - 1839), also from Dijon, a lawyer at the Burgundy parliament at the start of his career, who came to Paris in 1788. Baron Ernouf published a biography, Maret, duc de Bassano, in Paris in 1878, highlighting the role of this important servant of the Empire. A Jacobin who was very active during the Revolution, he was one of the founders of the Club des Feuillants. Sent on a mission to London, then ambassador to Naples in 1793, he was arrested by the Austrians in July 1793, while crossing Switzerland on his way to Naples. Imprisoned for months, he was among those exchanged for Madame Royale in 1795. He is one of the creators of parliamentary journalism. In 1789, he initiated the daily publication of the Bulletin de l'Assemblée Nationale, which he merged with Le Moniteur in 1790. He has been a member of the Académie française since 1803. Close to Napoleon, whom he trusted completely, he accompanied him on all his campaigns. He served several times as Secretary of State and Minister. In 1802, he was chief of staff to the 1st Consul. In 1805, he was one of the negotiators of the peace treaty with Austria, and one of the most fervent supporters of Napoleon's marriage to Marie-Louise. He was one of the drafters of the constitutions of Portugal and Holland. Napoleon created the title of Duke of Bassano for him in 1809, and named him Peer de France in 1815, during the 100 Days. Exiled to Austria for a time at the end of the Empire, he returned to Paris in 1820, where he lived on rue Saint Lazare. He was appointed Peer de France for a second time in 1831 under the July Monarchy, and continued his career as a great servant of the State, becoming President of the Council of Ministers in 1834. Robert Lefèvre's Portrait of the Duke of Bassano, painted in 1807, was donated to the Louvre in 2024. This painting is of the same provenance as ours. The Duchesse de Bassano was lady-in-waiting to Empress Josephine, and later to Empress Marie-Louise. A great friend of Queen Hortense, she was one of the most beautiful women at court, appreciated for her exquisite manners and receptions, first at the Hôtel d'Elbeuf, place du Carrousel, then at the Hôtel de Gallifet when her husband took up his post there. The couple also had two country residences, the Pavillon de Nandy in Seine-Port and the Hôtel Montalais in Meudon. They had five children, the eldest of whom, Napoleon, was Grand Chamberlain to Napoleon III. The portrait of the Duchesse de Bassano was painted by Baron Gérard at a time when the Duc de Bassano was at the height of his political career and the couple were among the most prominent in Paris, In April 1811, the Duc de Bassano, appointed Minister of Foreign Affairs, moved with his family to the Hôtel Gallifet on rue de Grenelle, then the official residence. The receptions held there were much admired by the socialites of the day. Construction of the neo-classical Hôtel de Gallifet was completed in 1792, shortly before it was seized as an émigré property. Charles François Delacroix, Minister of Foreign Affairs and father of the painter, then Talleyrand from 1797 to 1807, preceded the Duc de Bassano in this residence. Madame de Staël, Benjamin Constant and Chateaubriand also stayed here. Converted into apartments in 1821, the hotel has belonged to the Italian Embassy since 1909 and houses the Italian Cultural Center. It was probably in this hotel that our picture was painted. In 1812, the Duchess of Bassano was painted twice by Baron Gérard, in black costume and in white costume (the latter unlocated today). Marie Madeleine Maret de Bassano is shown full-length, leaning casually on a piece of "Egyptian"-style furniture, in vogue after the Egyptian Expedition. She plays casually with her shawl and the belt of her r
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