Aline Chassériau
Encyclopedia
Aline Chassériau is an 1835 oil on canvas painting by French romantic
artist Théodore Chassériau
, which represents Aline Chassériau (1822–1871), the painter's younger sister. Once owned by the artist's brother Frédéric, it was given to the Musée du Louvre by Baron Arthur Chassériau
and his wife in 1918.
Aline (born Geneviève) Chassériau posed for this portrait when she was thirteen years of age, and the painter sixteen. In a nearly monochromatic design, Aline is depicted standing in front of a dark background. She wears a brown cloak with a white collar, and looks directly at the viewer with her hands crossed before her. The expression is somber, the handling of light assured. Influences for this refined technique of the portrait include Ingres
, with whom Chassériau had recently studied, and Italian Renaissance
masters Raphael
and Bronzino.
It had long been thought that the model for this painting was Chassériau's older sister Adèle, but pencil drawings of Aline, as well as renewed attention to the visual evidence—the subject is adolescent, and Adèle was twenty five at the time—have corrected the misconception. Chassériau frequently used his siblings, especially his sisters, as models for drawing and painting. As a young man, his relationship to his sisters has been described as so close as to have been "almost amorous". Chassériau's first mistress, Clémence Monnerot, later recalled: "Adèle, Aline and I were Théodore's models for many years. He drew at night under lamplight and posed us as he liked. Adèle has superb arms; they appear everywhere....They are, too, young ladies, his two idealized sisters and their friend, whom he worshipped".
Aline did not marry, and died in 1871 during the Paris Commune
in Bordeaux
.
Romanticism
Romanticism was an artistic, literary and intellectual movement that originated in the second half of the 18th century in Europe, and gained strength in reaction to the Industrial Revolution...
artist Théodore Chassériau
Théodore Chassériau
Théodore Chassériau was a French romantic painter noted for his portraits, historical and religious paintings, allegorical murals, and Orientalist images inspired by his travels to Algeria.-Life and work:...
, which represents Aline Chassériau (1822–1871), the painter's younger sister. Once owned by the artist's brother Frédéric, it was given to the Musée du Louvre by Baron Arthur Chassériau
Arthur Chassériau
Baron Arthur Nedjma Chassériau was a French stock broker, art lover and art collector, most notable as a major donor to the Musée du Louvre...
and his wife in 1918.
Aline (born Geneviève) Chassériau posed for this portrait when she was thirteen years of age, and the painter sixteen. In a nearly monochromatic design, Aline is depicted standing in front of a dark background. She wears a brown cloak with a white collar, and looks directly at the viewer with her hands crossed before her. The expression is somber, the handling of light assured. Influences for this refined technique of the portrait include Ingres
Ingres
Ingres Database is a commercially supported, open-source SQL relational database management system intended to support large commercial and government applications...
, with whom Chassériau had recently studied, and Italian Renaissance
Italian Renaissance
The Italian Renaissance began the opening phase of the Renaissance, a period of great cultural change and achievement in Europe that spanned the period from the end of the 13th century to about 1600, marking the transition between Medieval and Early Modern Europe...
masters Raphael
Raphael
Raffaello Sanzio da Urbino , better known simply as Raphael, was an Italian painter and architect of the High Renaissance. His work is admired for its clarity of form and ease of composition and for its visual achievement of the Neoplatonic ideal of human grandeur...
and Bronzino.
It had long been thought that the model for this painting was Chassériau's older sister Adèle, but pencil drawings of Aline, as well as renewed attention to the visual evidence—the subject is adolescent, and Adèle was twenty five at the time—have corrected the misconception. Chassériau frequently used his siblings, especially his sisters, as models for drawing and painting. As a young man, his relationship to his sisters has been described as so close as to have been "almost amorous". Chassériau's first mistress, Clémence Monnerot, later recalled: "Adèle, Aline and I were Théodore's models for many years. He drew at night under lamplight and posed us as he liked. Adèle has superb arms; they appear everywhere....They are, too, young ladies, his two idealized sisters and their friend, whom he worshipped".
Aline did not marry, and died in 1871 during the Paris Commune
Paris Commune
The Paris Commune was a government that briefly ruled Paris from March 18 to May 28, 1871. It existed before the split between anarchists and Marxists had taken place, and it is hailed by both groups as the first assumption of power by the working class during the Industrial Revolution...
in Bordeaux
Bordeaux
Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...
.