Family Portraits
We have seen Carolus-Duran as a famous portrait painter whose talents were highly sought-after for formal representations. He also reveals himself to have been a painter who was sensitive to the people around him and particularly his family, whom he endeavoured to include in his work. Several portraits of his mother still exist, including Lady in Black and Portrait of my Mother, as do paintings of his younger sister Marie and his wife Pauline and their three children, for example the Portrait of Marie Anne Feydeau, his eldest daugher.
The first picture to feature his wife is entitled The Kiss, and while it was not exhibited at the Salons, it nevertheless contributed to establishing his reputation as a painter. In particular, it was engraved several times and was therefore widely distributed. The theme and treatment combine to evoke tenderness, romanticism and intimacy, and his appeal certainly increased as a result of the autobiographical character of the scene. This intimate representation of his wife was repeated in a picture which reveals her in his studio, at work in front of his easel, following the French tradition of the portrait of the artist.
|
