Lot 152: Jean-Baptiste-Joseph Duchesne (Gisors 1770 - Paris 1856)

Caroline Ferdinande Louise, The Duchess of Berry (1798-1870), wearing dark green velvet dress with white silk sleeves and lace neckline, a jewelled gold brooch at her corsage, her blonde hair plaited and curled
signed and dated, Duchesne de Gisors. 1827, original ormolu frame, the four corners with fleur-de-lys spandrels and surmounted with pierced fleur-de-lys cresting, leather reverse, fitted leather travelling case
Octagonal, 150mm. (5 5/8ins.) high

S.N.P.G., 2000-2003

B. Hofstetter, 'Les miniatures de la duchesse de Berry' in Marie Caroline de Berry, 2002, p. 150

By Artist's Family Descent

Marie Caroline (1798-1870), daughter of Francesco, Crown Prince of Naples and Sicily, later Francesco I, King of the Kingdom of the Two Sicilies, and his first wife and cousin, Maria Clementina, Archduchess of Austria. She married in 1816 Charles Ferdinand, Duke of Berry (1778-1820), younger son of Charles, Count of Artois and his wife Maria Teresa of Savoy. Her husband was assasinated in 1820 and her son, Henri, born after his father's death was named the 'miracle child' as he was to ensure that the crown would remain within the Bourbon family. Louis XVIII described her as 'Yeux, nez bouche, rien est jolie, tout est charmant' and she was known by her supporters as the 'Royal Angel'. In 1824, when her father-in-law Charles X became King, she became an icon of Parisian life. This life ended on Charles abdication in 1830, so the present lot shows her at her social peak. From 1830, the French Royal family went into exile and the Duchesse du Berry commited herself to ensuring that her son assume his rightful seat on the throne. The the same year the King appointed his cousin, Louis-Phillipe d'Orléans as the legal guardian of Henri leaving the the Duchesse with no responsibility for the upbringing of her son.
In 1832, the Duchess tried in vain to persuade the people of the South of France and Vendée to rise against Louis-Phillipe. When she failed to convince the public she fled to the country disguised as a male peasant. After seeking refuge in Nantes, she was eventually betrayed by a servant and held in the Fortress de Blaye. Whilst imprisoned it became obvious to onlookers that the Duchess was pregnant and she admitted to secretly marrying Count Hector Lucchesi-Palli (1805-1864) whilst living in exile in Italy. The Duchess subsequently gave birth to a daughter in prison, by doing so she lost credit to her cause and was ridiculed by the public and ousted by the Royalists. Upon her release the Duchess returned to Italy and continued to request the legal guardianship of her son, her pleas being continuously rejected by the King.

The present lot may be compared to a portrait painted two years earlier (1825), by Sir Thomas Lawrence in the Musée Fabre. The Duchess is wearing an identical style of costume and her hair is dressed in a similar fashion.

The miniatures of Jean-Baptiste-Jacques Duchesne de Gisors form an important part of the iconography of the Duchess of Berry. For further information cf. B. Hofstetter, 'Les miniatures de la duchesse de Berry' in Marie Caroline de Berry, Paris, 2002, pp. 138-159. The present miniature, contained in a fine bespoke frame that incorporates the Bourbon fleur-de-lys emblem, is also of interest in that the artist retained it for his family's collection.