Description

Following his father’s death in 1757, the young Jacques-Louis David was raised in the house of his uncle, architect François Buron, and his wife, Marie-Josèphe Fromont. Madame Buron was particularly supportive of David’s desire to become a painter, in opposition to her husband’s wish that he study architecture. In this intimate early portrait, David presented his aunt looking up momentarily from her reading to acknowledge the viewer with a warm reserve. Her glance suggests an affectionate bond between the painter and sitter and displays the ambitious young artist’s awareness of contemporary conventions for depicting middle-class women of sensibility.

Provenance

Probably in the sitter’s possession [for the descent of this portrait and the companion portrait of François Buron, see Schnapper in Paris 1989-90, p. 44, under no. 2]; probably by descent to her daughter, Marie Françoise Buron, who married François Charles Seigneur; probably by descent to their daughter, Alexandrine Marie Louise, who married Charles François Baudry; probably by descent to their son, A. Baudry, and his wife (both d. 1903), by 1879; probably in 1903 to Mme Baudry’s brother, M. Dussault (or Dussaud), and his wife [according to London 1948 and Péreire 1907]; presumably by descent to M. Regnault, a family member, Paris, until 1925; offered for sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 22 June 1905, no. 2 (ill.), bought in [subsequently lent by Regnault to Paris 1913]; sold by Regnault to Wildenstein, Paris in 1925; transferred from Wildenstein, Paris, on 22 March 1939; inventoried in Wildenstein, New York, stock on 27 February 1940 [acc.to Ay-Whang Hsia of Wildenstein, conversation with Martha Wolff 4 November 2003, note in curatorial file]; sold by Wildenstein to the Art Institute, 1963.

Madame François Buron

Jacques Louis David

1769

Accession Number

88632

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

66.3 × 55.5 cm (26 1/8 × 21 7/8 in.); Framed: 92.4 × 81.6 × 10.2 cm (36 3/8 × 32 1/8 × 4 in.)

Classification

oil on canvas

Museum

The Art Institute of Chicago

Chicago, United States

Credit Line

Purchased with funds provided by Mrs. Albert J. Beveridge in memory of her mother, Abby Louise Spencer (Mrs. Augustus Eddy).