Mme Henri Belmont from the Comédie Française

Aubry demonstrated his great skill in this graceful portrait of a woman in, for example, the rendering of the fine fabrics and their effects. The sitter stands out clearly from the dark background, looking at the observer with a calm, direct gaze. Her upper body is turned slightly out of profile towards the front in order to draw the observer’s attention to her delicately covered neckline without making the portrait into a primarily erotic one. The lady’s dark hair is gathered up under a very thin embroidered headscarf. An equally translucent lace band adorns the lady’s neck and borders a fine gauze fabric covering her décolleté. Part of her white muslin dress can be seen covering her breast and upper arm.
An old inscription on the reverse indicates that the sitter is Mme Henri Belmont, a Parisian actress known for her charm and beauty. At the beginning of the 19th century, she was hugely successful in the comic opera “Fanchon la vielleuse” (“Fanchon, the hurdy-gurdy player”) at the Théâtre du Vaudeville.¹ The comedy by Jean Nicolas Bouilly was premiered in 1803 and poked ironic and entertaining fun at the distinctions of social class. During the show, Fanchon’s charming and loving personality triumphs over all social differences.
If the sitter really is Mme Belmont, Aubry paid less attention to her stage role and more to her radiant grace and amiable personality.²
J. S. O.