ADELE FERRAND, PORTRAIT PAINTER

The golden age of portrait painting in France

In the 19^th century, before the fashion for photography, tens of thousands of portraits were painted. The oldest of the portrait painters under the July Monarchy studied at the school of the painter David, but the most sought-after were those who had trained with Ingres. 

Hundreds of other artists like Adele Ferrand painted on commission for clients form the aristocracy or bourgeoisie, who considered it fashionable to hang family portraits in the living room.   

Adele Ferrand’s portraits in the Leon-Dierx art gallery are of her own family or close friends, with the exception of two paintings bought after the 1922 bequest which were painted on commission.

Self-portrait of Adele

There are two known self-portraits of Adele Ferrand. In the first, showing Adele as a young girl, her face is still chubby and framed by curly locks. She is dressed in white and is holding a red book.  

The painting is particularly successful, as regards the rendering of the white cloth of the dress and its sash, the gleam of the taffeta and the vaporous quality of the muslin; in the background, a landscape with its colours softened by the sunset serves as a balance for the model’s pale face. The presence of the book asserts the importance of thought, intellect, in the creative process. 

Portrait de Mme Ferrand

C’est par le portrait de sa mère Mme Ferrand, qu’elle est remarquée par la critique au Salon à Paris en 1840 : l’œuvre était exposée dans le grand salon du Louvre au-dessus d’une porte, bien visible. Un critique écrit dans le Journal des Artistes : « C’est là un remarquable portrait bien réussi et qui révèle un grand avenir chez une toute jeune artiste… La tête, d’une bonne couleur est bien modelée, franchement peinte et surtout vivante. »

Cette femme au manchon de fourrure pose presque de face, au centre de la toile. Elle revêt une cape noire dont la capuche doublée de satin blanc, aux plis multiples peints avec brio, encadre le visage d’une femme mûre mais paisible. L’artiste a cherché à rompre la symétrie en ne dévoilant qu’une longue main, froissant un gant de cuir clair tandis qu’un ruban rouge ponctue le bord inférieur de la toile. Cette touche vive rompt avec l’harmonie de gris, de noir et de brun qui renforce le caractère hivernal du portrait. 

Denis François Le Coat de Kervéguen

When Adele arrived in Reunion with her family at the end of 1846, she painted portraits of her family and close friends, as well as a few on commission.

The portrait of her husband Denis François Le Coat de Kerveguen represents a man sitting in a cosy drawing room with a dog at his side. The painting vaguely recalls the small portrait of a trader painted by Arie de Vois, that Adele had made of sketch of in the Louvre. The painting hanging on the wall, the books, the maps, the globe and the sheet music on the table: everything points to the sitter being a well-educated member of the bourgeoisie and sensitive to the arts.