PICHON & NOUDEL-DENIAU, Commissaires-Priseurs
157
-
Alexandre KUCHARSKI (Warsaw, 1741–Chaillot, 1819), attribute…
See original version (French)
157
-
Alexandre KUCHARSKI (Warsaw, 1741–Chaillot, 1819), attribute…
See original version (French)
Estimate €300 - €500
Voluntary lot
Description
Alexandre KUCHARSKI (Warsaw, 1741–Chaillot, 1819), attributed to
Portrait of Marie-Antoinette at the Temple
OIL ON CANVAS (original)
In a rectangular gilded wooden frame, decorated with fleurs-de-lis at the corners, inscribed in black at the bottom:
‘MARIE-ANTOINETTE / Archduchess of Austria, Queen of France. / Painted by
KUCHARSKI. ’
Bears an inscription on the reverse of the stretcher: ‘The painter KUCHARSKI, being a member of the National Guard and having been on duty twice
at the Temple following the death of Louis XVI in 1793, had the honour of seeing the Queen, and made an
exact sketch of this painting, which he later executed.”
22 x 15.5 cm
(tear in the centre of the face, requiring restoration; minor imperfections and a gap in the frame)
Related works
- Alexandre Kucharski, Marie-Antoinette at the Temple, 1793, oil on canvas, 25 x 20 cm, Versailles,
National Museum of the Palaces of Versailles and Trianon (inv. MV 5295).
- Alexandre Kucharski, Marie-Antoinette at the Temple, c. 1815, oil on canvas, 21.5 x 16 cm, Paris,
Carnavalet Museum (inv. P1457).
- Alexandre Kucharski, Marie-Antoinette at the Temple, oil on canvas, 21 x 16 cm, Versailles,
Lambinet Museum (inv. 761).
- Alexandre Kucharski, Marie-Antoinette at the Temple, oil on canvas, 25 x 20 cm, Warsaw, Museum of the
Royal Castle.
Background
Following the events of August 1792 and the fall of the monarchy, Louis XVI, Marie-Antoinette, their
children and Madame Elisabeth were imprisoned in the Temple. The conditions of detention for the
royal family there gradually worsened, particularly from the time of Louis XVI’s trial.
He was sentenced to death and guillotined on 21 January 1793, following which Marie-Antoinette went
into mourning. She remained at the Temple until her transfer to the Conciergerie prison on 2 August 1793. The
queen was also guillotined on 16 October 1793.
Kucharski became the queen’s portraitist following the emigration of Elisabeth-Louise Vigée-Lebrun and
the royal family’s departure for Paris in October 1789. In particular, he produced a pastel portrait of Marie-
Antoinette in pastel, which remained unfinished (Palace of Versailles). The minutes of the Queen’s trial indicate
that Kucharski visited her at the Temple between 26 January and 1 April 1793 to produce a
second portrait depicting Marie-Antoinette at the Temple. It is likely that he produced sketches and
studies on that occasion, which he then revisited in his studio to paint the final portrait (some
consider the original portrait to be the one at Versailles, whilst others believe it to be the one formerly lost
of the Marquise de Tarente and later the Duke of Uzès).
Dressed in black, the colour of mourning, in a simple gown, the queen appears very dignified, as her
contemporaries attested. Her gaze fixes the viewer, whilst her silhouette stands out against
a brown wall, evoking her prison. This image was highly successful and Kucharski
produced numerous copies, which he was still distributing at the start of the Restoration, coinciding with the
re-establishment of a monarchy in France from 1815 onwards. This small painting, produced between
1793 and 1815, is thought to be one of the artist’s many copies, attesting to the significance of the cult surrounding Marie-Antoinette, who had become a martyr figure of the monarchy.
See original version (French)
Auto-translation. Refer to original language for legal validity.
Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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