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Portrait of a Woman, Said to be Madame Charles Simon Favart (Marie Justine Benoîte Duronceray, 1727–1772)

1757
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 629
In 1745 Mademoiselle Duronceray—the singer, dancer, and comedienne probably portrayed here—married Charles Simon Favart, the father of French comic opera. Among her best-known roles was that of the heroine in The Loves of Bastien and Bastienne, 1753, in which she inspired a revolution in theatrical costume by wearing authentic peasant dress. Drouais’s portrait of her seated at a harpsichord recalls traditional representations of Saint Cecilia, patron saint of music.

Artwork Details

Object Information
  • Title: Portrait of a Woman, Said to be Madame Charles Simon Favart (Marie Justine Benoîte Duronceray, 1727–1772)
  • Artist: François Hubert Drouais (French, Paris 1727–1775 Paris)
  • Date: 1757
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 31 1/2 x 25 1/2 in. (80 x 64.8 cm)
  • Classification: Paintings
  • Credit Line: Mr. and Mrs. Isaac D. Fletcher Collection, Bequest of Isaac D. Fletcher, 1917
  • Object Number: 17.120.210
  • Curatorial Department: European Paintings

More Artwork

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Harpsichord, Louis Bellot French, Wood and various materials, French
Harpsichord
Louis Bellot
1742
Madame Sophie de France (1734–1782), François Hubert Drouais French, Oil on canvas
Madame Sophie de France (1734–1782)
François Hubert Drouais
1762
Portrait of a Young Woman as a Vestal Virgin, François Hubert Drouais French, Oil on canvas
Portrait of a Young Woman as a Vestal Virgin
François Hubert Drouais
1767
Marie Rinteau, called Mademoiselle de Verrières, François Hubert Drouais French, Oil on canvas
Marie Rinteau, called Mademoiselle de Verrières
François Hubert Drouais
1761
Boy with a Black Spaniel, François Hubert Drouais French, Oil on canvas
Boy with a Black Spaniel
François Hubert Drouais
ca. 1767

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