Thérèse-Françoise Potain Roland, Wife of the Sculptor

c. 1782/1783

Philippe-Laurent Roland

Sculptor, French, 1746 - 1816

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Roland's study of his bride became the Gallery's first 18th-century portrait bust of a woman. The material, unpainted terracotta, rose in popularity for finished art works in this period. Its warm color and responsiveness to the sculptor's touch heighten the sensuous effect of such features as the ebullient hair and cupid's bow mouth. The ruffled neckline sliding down to the right balances the tilt of the model's head as she begins to smile, perhaps toward her new husband. This bust remained with the descendants of the sculptor and sitter into the 20th century.

On View

West Building Ground Floor, Gallery G11

Artwork overview

  • Medium

    terracotta

  • Credit Line

    Millennium Funds

  • Dimensions

    overall: 78.5 x 48 x 26 cm (30 7/8 x 18 7/8 x 10 1/4 in.)

  • Accession

    2003.43.1

Artwork history & notes

Provenance

Family of the sculptor; Gabriel de Montigny, descendant of Roland's daughter, from at least 1901 to after 1908. M.L. Lévy, Paris; (his sale, Galerie Georges Petit, Paris, 18-19 June 1917, 1st day, no. 99, as by Augustin Pajou). (sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 12 March 1948, no. 37, as by Augustin Pajou). Edmond Courty [1896-1972], Châtillon-Sous-Bagneux, at least in 1965;[1] probably by inheritance to his descendants; (sale, Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 9 December 2002, no. 53); (Galerie Patrice Bellanger, Paris); purchased 13 March 2003 by NGA.
[1] Denise Genoux, "Quelques bustes et médaillon retrouvés de Philippe-Laurent Roland," Bulletin de la société de l'histoire de l'art français (1965): 193-194.

Associated Names

Exhibition History

1789

  • Possibly Salon, Paris, 1789, no. 263, as Mlle Potain.

Bibliography

1901

  • Marcel, Henry. "Quelques oeuvres inédites de Philippe Roland." Gazette des Beaux-Arts 25 (1901): 183, repro. 184.

1953

  • Catheu, Françoise de. “Deux bustes d’enfants de Ph. L. Roland.” Gazette des Beaux-Arts ser. 6 vol. 41 (March 1953): 203-206.

1965

  • Genoux, Denise. "Quelques bustes et médaillon retrouvés de Philippe-Laurent Roland." Bulletin de la société de l'histoire de l'art français (1965): 193-194.

1992

  • Musée du Louvre. Nouvelles acquisitions du département des Sculptures, 1988-1991. Paris, 1992: no. 27, 88-89, fig. 27a.

2003

  • Scherf, Guilhem. "Un bust d’Augustin Pajou au Nationalmuseum" Art Bulletin of Nationalmuseum Stockholm 10 (2003): 67-70.

  • Alison Luchs. “Philippe-Laurent Roland, Thérèse-Françoise Potain Roland, Wife of the Sculptor.” National Gallery of Art Bulletin no. 30 (Fall 2003): 15, repro.

2005

  • Baillio, Joseph, et al. The arts of France from Francois Ier to Napoleon Ier : a centennial celebration of Wildenstein's presence in New York. Published in conjunction with an exhibition held at Wildenstein & Co., for the benefit of the American Friends of the Louvre, October 26, 2005-January 6, 2006. New York, 2005: no. 126.

2006

  • Blanc, Olivier. Portraits de femmes artistes et modèles à l’époque de Marie-Antoinette. Paris, 2006: 46, 48, 50, repro.

2015

  • Luchs, Alison. “The Sculptor’s Lady: A French Eighteenth-Century Response to Bernini’s Costanza?” In Carolyn H. Miner, ed. The Eternal Baroque. Studies in Honour of Jennifer Montagu. Milan, 2015: 445-452, figs. 3 and 4.

2017

  • Clark, Jr., Alvin L., ed. Tradition & Transitions: Eighteenth-Century French Art from The Horvitz Collection. Exh. cat. Petit Palais, Paris. Paris, 2017: 372-375, 541, no. 145, repros.

Wikidata ID

Q63862013

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