Large portrait of Blanche de Croix, née Pieffort (1814–1841), by Claude-Marie Dubufe (1790–1864)
Married in 1832 to Ernest de Croix (1803–1874), Marquis of Heuchin, senator and member of the General Council for the Eure
Circa 1832-1835
H 129 cm L 95 cm et avec cadre H 170 cm L 135 cm
A brilliant student, he became a trainee consul in 1809. Although his father intended him to pursue a diplomatic career, he was an amateur painter of considerable talent, having frequented Jacques-Louis David’s studio since around 1804. David recognised him as a true artist and, according to family tradition, persuaded his father not to turn his son away from the arts just as he was about to leave for America. His father cut him off financially, and he had to play the violin in an orchestra in the evenings to pay for his painting lessons at David’s studio.
He travelled to Italy in 1811 and was introduced to the d’Orléans family. Dubufe was honoured with two official commissions in 1824, the first for The Birth of the Duke of Bordeaux, and the second, to commemorate Le Passage de la Bidassoa. He then embarked on a long and distinguished career as a portrait painter of the nobility and the upper classes.
This portrait of the Marquise de Croix is therefore entirely representative of the grand portraits of the high aristocracy produced during the Restoration.
Many museums hold this type of large portrait, such as the Louvre, which houses the portrait of the Dubufe family, and, in particular, the Château de Compiègne, a royal residence, which houses portraits of the d’Orléans family.
We also find the same gilded wooden frame on many paintings. When commissions for portraits were placed, Dubufe must therefore have offered a range of framing options.
