Marguerite GÉRARD (Grasse, 1761 - Paris, 1837) Portrait of Etienne-François Marchand and his two daughters Oil on walnut panel, one plate Signed 'Mte / gérard' lower left Portrait of Etienne-François Marchand and his two daughters, oil on walnut panel, signed, by M. Gérard 23.62 x 20.07 in. 60 x 51 cm Provenance: Mentioned in the Parisian cabinet of Étienne-François Marchand, in the "painting on canvas (sic) representing Cen Marchand and his two children, painted by Mlle Gérard, it has only been mentioned here for the record" in the inventory after the death of his wife Périne Renée Néron (Arch. nat., Min. cent., XVIII, 988, 12 brumaire an XI (3 November 1802); Collection of Catherine Marchand, wife of Augustin Jacques Gabriel Thion; Then by descent ; Private collection, Normandy This previously unpublished image, imbued with filial devotion and paternal pride, is one of the most delicate portraits painted by Marguerite Gérard in the late 1790s. After skilfully waiting for the right moment to indulge in the games of criticism, she chose to take part in the Salon for the first time in 1799, where she recalled her early compositions, widely disseminated through engravings in the 1780s, by presenting a work produced at the time in collaboration with her brother-in-law Jean-Honoré Fragonard, Le Bouquet (private collection), while exhibiting works in tune with the aesthetics of the moment. Marguerite Gérard knew how to make the political and cultural upheavals of her time a fertile springboard for her creation, constantly renewing her language in response to changing tastes. She benefited from the renewed interest - and capital - in the arts under the Directoire, attracting the attention of influential patrons, including the banker Jean-Frédéric Perrégaux, one of her most committed and sought-after supporters in Paris, and the owner of Le Concert (Grasse, Musée Jean-Honoré Fragonard. Collection Hélène et Jean-François Costa) and L'Heureux ménage (Birmingham, Birmingham Museum of Art), two genre scenes very similar in spirit to this composition. Marguerite Gérard brilliantly inscribes her portraits in the present, finely probing the inner lives and attitudes of her models as well as their place in the social sphere. As in the Portrait d'une mère et de sa fille, exactly contemporary (Blumenfeld, 2019, p. 103, and 228-229, 136 P), which bears a wax seal with the arms of the Grimaldi family on the back, she plays here with the motifs of the fashionable wallpaper in the background and the models' taste for fashion. This image of bourgeois tranquillity, in which Étienne-François Marchand casts an extremely delicate eye over the duo formed by his daughters, fixes a precise moment in the family's itinerary. The eldest daughter, about to marry Charles-Marie Dissez, an office manager at the Ministry of Finance in Paris, with 50,000 francs to her name, held a piece of music in her hands. Her youngest daughter, five years younger, wrapped it around her with a tender, collected gesture. The latter's reserve, as she looks away from the viewer and fixes her eyes on the sheet of music, adds a touching nuance of modesty to the scene. By choosing to paint on panel rather than canvas, Marguerite Gérard is indulging in an exercise in stylistic virtuosity. The complexions of the two sisters, subtly iridescent with pink and ivory tones, let the light peek through the skin, giving it an almost diaphanous vibrancy. The modelling, exquisitely suave, proceeds through imperceptible transitions of light and shade, enveloping the forms in a tender sfumato that suits the intended purpose. The pose of Étienne-François Marchand, bent over a book he has been distracted from reading by the arrival of his daughters, is reminiscent of the Portrait of Henri Gérard (Grasse, villa-musée Fragonard) or the Portrait of François-Yves Roubaud, dated 1797 (Grasse, musée Jean-Honoré Fragonard. Collection Hélène et Jean-François Costa). The absence of the wife and mother suggests an impediment, probably due to illness. She was also absent at Désirée's wedding, celebrated in Ploudaniel on 29 October 1800 (7 brumaire an IX). The family owned the manor house of Trebodennic, the former property of the Marquis de Poupry, an emigrant whose property was seized and then acquired by Étienne-François Marchand, first in part in the year III, then in full in the year IV. Two years later, Perine Renée Néron died in Vitry-sur-Seine, where she had retired, probably for health reasons, as the couple had no home there. The work is the only portrait mentioned in her after-death inventory, drawn up in the flat at 4 rue de la Michodière - which makes it impossible to imagine the existence of a counterpart. The notarised document details the tremendous success of the naval paint supplier and shipowner since the early 1790s. We would like to thank Carole Blumenfeld for writing this note. Our painting will be included in the artist's catalogue raisonné currently being prepared by Carole Blumenfeld. Marguerite GÉRARD (Grasse, 1761 - Paris, 1837) 60 x 51 cm