Alice Brisbane en Récamier (portrait)

Overview

This is the portrait of the American model Alice Brisbane dressed as Madame Récamier, which Marie began on 27 April 1880 and finished on 22 April 1881. It began as an informal exchange: Alice agreed to pose for her on condition that Marie gave her the finished work. Marie never describes the finished picture beyond the costume, and no reproduction or museum record has been found.

Marie and this work

26 April 1880 (088.0016): "Je n'ai pas de place à l'atelier, une ravissante Américaine va poser pour moi à condition que je lui donne l'œuvre." On the 27th (088.0028) the first sitting: "Elle ressemble à Mme Récamier, je lui retrousse les cheveux à la Psyché, et lui mets une chemise de batiste à manches courtes et bouffantes, un ruban rose autour de la taille sous les seins et une écharpe paille dans laquelle elle s'enveloppe les bras. Elle est d'une maigreur exquise ... une maigreur de quinze ans." Three days later (088.0040) she names her: "Ma petite Américaine qui s'appelle Alice Brisbane", and takes her to the Salon opening on 30 April.

The costume is that of the famous portrait of Juliette Récamier by Jacques-Louis David (1800, Louvre), a recumbent woman in a simple white gown (Wikipedia, "Portrait of Madame Récamier"). Marie herself wore a "costume Récamier" on 3 May 1880 (088.0082). The nickname stuck: on 10 January 1881 (090.0567) "la petite américaine Alice - Récamier" arrives to hear Marie's troubles at the atelier, and on 22 April 1881 (091.0504) she writes: "Je rentrais du 37 où je viens de finir le portrait de Brisbane en Récamier". That is the only reference to the portrait as finished.

A caution

The inventory also lists 091.0130 (14 February 1881): "La tête de Brisbane (Alice) est peinte en deux heures de temps, et Julian me dit de la laisser ... Une partie du tablier et le corsage sont aussi peints." An apron does not fit the Récamier costume of 088.0028, and the entry on L'Atelier Julian treats Alice as one of the models for that large picture. This paragraph is therefore not counted as part of the Récamier portrait here. Likewise the male "Brisbane" at 091.0088 (a model and companion, 7 February 1881) is a different person from Alice; the glossary keeps two entries.

References in Diary

Related Entries

Sources