Lot 203: Jeanne Elisabeth Chaudet Paris 1767 - 1832 , Portrait of a Young Girl Holding her Cat oil on canvas

oil on canvas

measurements note 45 in. by 36 in. 114.3 cm by 91.4 cm

The livret for the Paris Salon of 1800 lists that Chaudet exhibited A Young Girl Playing with her Cat. It is possible that the present work is identifiable as that painting. Born in Paris, Jeanne- Elisabeth Gabiou maried Antoine-Denis Chaudet, the famous sculptor in 1793. Her style owes much to that of Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun, whose circle she had joined at an early stage in her career. From 1797 to 1817, she regularly exhibited at the Salon of the Académie Royale. The Empress Joséphine commissioned several pictures from her including A young girl kneeling in front of the statue of Minerva and A young girl feeding her chickens (Salon of 1801 and 1802 respectively, now both in the Arenenberg Museum).