* François Pascal Simon Gerard, called Baron Gerard Rome 1770-1837 Paris

Maréchale Lannes, duchess of Montebello, thence by decent to
Her elder son Napoléon-Louis, Duke de Montebello, thence by descent to
His elder son Napoléon, duke of Montebello, thence by descent to
The duchess of Montebello, widow of the above from whom purchased by
The countess Werlée, sister in law of the above, thence by descent to the present collectors.

Paris, Ecole des Beaux Arts, Portraits de femmes et d’enfants, 1897, n° 70.

 

C. Lenormant, François Gérard, peintre d’histoire, Paris 1847 p. 184 ;
H. Gérard, L’œuvre de François Gérard, Paris 1852-53, vol. I, engraved ;
H. Gérard, Lettres adressées au baron François Gérard, Paris 1886, vol. II p. 406 ;
Journal de Marie-Amélie de Bourbon, Paris 1938, p. 67.

The Duchess of Montebello (1782-1856) commissioned Baron Gérard to paint this important and monumental family portrait in 1814. Gérard, then 44 years old, was at the height of his powers and was one of the most sought after and highly honored portrait painters of the time. He was known to the Duchess not only by reputation, but also because he had already painted a large military portrait of her husband in 1809. (Private collection, see illustration of the small replica at Versailles, fig. 1). The portrait was finished by October 1814 when Marie-Amélie, Duchess of Orléans saw it in Gérard’s studio, describing it in her Journal as “superbe”. Final payment for the painting was made to Gérard only five years later in 1819, for a total of 15,000 gold francs.

The painting’s original support was canvas, but the Duchess of Montebello’s eldest son, Louis-Napoléon, had it laid down on panel in 1863. A small autograph replica by Gérard is preserved in the Musée National du Château de Versailles (see fig. 2). Copies were executed from 1850 to 1860 for each of the children sitting in the portrait.

The painting has remained in the extended family of the original sitter until this day.  A metal plaque on the reverse of the panel outlines the history of the painting with the following inscription: Je soussignée déclare que ce tableau portrait de la Maréchale Lannes duchesse de Montebello a été peint par Gérard et qu’il n’y en a pas eu d’autre peint par lui. Il est resté en la possession de la maréchale Lannes jusqu’à sa mort en 1855 (sic). Son fils aîné en a hérité et il l’a fait maroufler en 1863 et il est resté en sa possession jusqu’à sa mort en 1874. Il est devenu alors la propriété de son fils aîné le duc de Montebello mort en 1876 et ensuite du fils de celui-ci mort à St Cyr en 1899. C’est alors qu’il a été racheté par moi. Il est toujours resté chez moi depuis. Le fait qu’il est sur bois le distingue des copies qui en ont été faites. Paris 18 avril 1918. Montebello Werlée [I certify that this painting, of the Marechale Lannes, the Duchess of Montbello, was painted by Gerard and there were no others painted of the same subject. It has remained in the possession of the Maréchale Lannes until the time of her death in 1855(sic). Her oldest son inherited the painting and in 1863 had it “marouflaged” (laid down on wooden panel), and it stayed in his possession until his death in 1874. It then became the property of his oldest son, the Duke of Montebello who died in 1876 and after his death, the property of his oldest son who died in St. Cyr in 1889. At this point in time, the painting was bought by myself and has always remained with me since its purchase. The fact that it is on wood distinguishes it from its copies. Paris, April 18 1918. Montebello Werlée].”

The Duchess of Montebello
Louise-Antoinette-Scholastique Guéhéneuc was born in Paris on March 26^th 1782, to an aristocratic family of Breton origin. She was the daughter of François-Scholastique Guéhéneuc, a well-to-do landowner in the Marne valley where he owned the Château d’Etoges, a property dating back to the 12^th Century.  Guéhéneuc was raised to the rank of Count under the Empire and, after the Restoration, Louis-Philippe named him a Pair de France. In 1800, at the age of 18, Louise-Scholastique met the young and popular General de Division Jean Lannes, already famous for his extraordinary heroism on the battlefield, and one of Napoleon’s favorite officers. A few months later they were married, possibly encouraged by Napoleon himself who was anxious that his most promising officers marry refined and educated women so that their wives could beneficially influence their husbands who were often of modest social origins. Whether it was a love marriage or an arranged one, it was in any case happy, and husband and wife preferred the quietness of family life to the obligations of social life at court, even though obliged to attend some of the official functions organized by the Empress.

Louise-Scholastique was a loving and devoted wife to Lannes, following him to Portugal where he was Ambassador from 1802 to 1804, and waiting for him while he was away at war. She even undertook perilous journeys to go and comfort him abroad when— wounded or exhausted— he needed her presence, as was the case when she traveled to Warsaw in the winter of 1807 where her husband was recuperating from the Polish campaign. After her husband’s death on May 31^st 1809, the Maréchale Lannes still played an important role at the imperial court when, after Napoleon’s remarriage to Marie-Louise, she was chosen, for her irreproachable morality and virtue, to become Dame d’honneurs (lady-in-waiting) to the new Empress. She developed a sincere friendship for the Empress, as is demonstrated by the correspondence they continued to exchange even after the fall of the Empire. From about 1814, the year this painting was commissioned, the Duchess of Montebello began to withdraw from public and lead a retired life, devoted to her five children.

Gérard subtly suggest the continued presence of the Maréchal Lannes in the painting.  The composition is dominated on the left by a monumental statue, of which we see only part of the leg and of the sword above a huge pedestal. There is a cannon ball next to the foot of the statue, a reference to the way Lannes died, fatally wounded by artillery.  Only his eldest son, who succeeded to the dukedom and presumably who would take up his father’s position in the army in adult life, looks up.

Maréchal Lannes’ adventurous and eventful life began in 1769 in Lectoure (Gers), where he was born to family of modest means. He entered the army at a very young age, and due to his courage and his extraordinary military talent, quickly rose to its highest echelons. As soon as 1804, he became a Maréchal d’Empire, the highest military rank. Napoleon was also to reward Lannes’ military successes by naming him Prince of Sievers (a Polish title) in 1807 and Duke of Montebello in March 1808. Lannes’ bravery made him hugely popular with his troops and the public, to whom he became a particular hero. He was nicknamed “the Roland of the French army,” a reference to the great mythic hero of Mediaeval France. Himself fascinated in turn by Napoleon’s military genius, Lannes took part in many of the battles which would become the greatest French victories of the war (Austerlitz, Iéna, Pultusk, Friedland, Saragossa, Regensburg).

However, in spite of his own military talents and his admiration for Napoleon, Lannes soon became disgusted with the violence and brutality of the war. His letters to his wife show his growing disillusionment.  In one letter, after the Battle of Austerlitz (1805), he wrote “Nous avons tout culbuté, c’est à dire tout tué ou pris : on n’a jamais vu un carnage pareil  [We have all collapsed; captured or dead : we have never seen carnage like this].” In 1808, during the siege of Saragossa, he observed the horror of the conflict: “Quel métier que celui que nos faisons ici! Saragosse ne sera bientôt plus qu’un tas de ruines [What are a job we doing here! Saragossa will soon be nothing but a pile of rubble].” And, before his death “Je crains la guerre, le premier bruit de guerre me fait frissonner…On étourdit les hommes pour mieux les mener à la mort  [I hate war, the first sounds of it makes me shiver… One has to stun men the better to lead them to their deaths].” He was wounded on May 22nd 1809, at the battle of Essling when a cannon ball shattered his knee. He survived until May 31^st and then died of gangrene. It is said that Napoleon cried over the dead body of his friend, saying repeatedly “Quelle perte pour la France et pour moi [What a loss for France and for me].” On the very day of Lannes’ death, Napoleon wrote a letter charged with emotion to the Duchess:

“Le maréchal est mort ce matin des blessures qu’il a reçues sur le champ d’honneur. Ma peine égale la vôtre; je perds le général le plus distingué de nos armées, mon compagnon d’armes depuis 16 ans, celui que je considérais comme mon meilleur ami. Sa famille et ses enfants auront toujours des droits particuliers à ma protection… [The Maréchal died this morning of injuries that he received on the field of honor. My anguish is equal to yours; I lose the most distinguished general of our armies, and my comrade in arms of 16 years whom I considered my best friend. His family and his children will always have a special right to my protection].”

On July 6th 1810, more than a year after his death, Maréchal Lannes was given a state funeral and was buried in the Panthéon.

The children
The painting depicts the family of the Maréchal Lannes in the garden of Maisons, their estate near Paris. Mother and children form a pyramid, dominated by the protecting Duchess, wearing a fashionable white silk dress and draped in a gilt-fringed red shawl. Her five children surround her.  In a letter to the Empress Marie-Louise, Corvisart, first Physician to Napoleon, characterizes the family so vividly that he almost might be describing the present painting itself:

“La duchesse est venue un instant avec ses garçons; ils se portaient tous fort bien, elle aussi et Joséphine aussi, à ce que m’a dit la mère. Napoléon est fort maigre, sans être malade ; il prend trop à cœur le travail, il prend la part d’Alfred qui ne se tuera point à force d’étudier. Au demeurant il est toujours un très doux et très aimable enfant. Ernest a une grande facilité, il est malin et même un peu taquin. Gustave.... n’a pas inventé la poudre mais c’est un bon enfant, un peu têtu ; il n’a pas le travail très facile mais il a le sens très droit et de la bonne volonté. Je ne dirai rien de Joséphine. C’est Dieu ou le diable incarné, je ne sais lequel des deux……… [The Duchess came to for a quick visit with her sons who seemed very well, as is she herself and Josephine, at least according to the mother. Napoléon is very thin without being ill; but he takes his work too much to heart, and he sticks up for Alfred who is not going to knock himself out with his studies. None the less, he is a soft-spoken and likable child. Ernest finds things easy but he can be a bit mischievous and is a prankster. Gustave… is not terribly bright but he is a good child if not sometimes stubborn; he does not find work easy but he has an honest character and a good outlook. I am not saying anything about Josephine. She is either God, or the Devil incarnate, I do not know which one].”

The eldest son, Louis-Napoléon, 2^nd Duke of Montebello (1801-1874) is shown standing next to his mother who rests her right hand on his shoulder. He is wearing a military costume and a black scarf (he mourns his father). In his left hand he holds a ducal hat. Napoleon and Joséphine’s godson, he was to become ambassador during the reign of Louis-Philippe (in Copenhagen 1832-34, Stockholm 1834-35, Bern 1835-38, and Naples 1838-47); he became Minister of Foreign Affairs in 1839 and Minister of the Navy in 1847. During the Second Empire, he was ambassador in Saint Petersburg where he managed to strengthen the links between France and Russia. In 1830 he had married an aristocratic English woman, Lady Eleonore Mary Jenkinson.

Standing next to him, Alfred, Count of Montebello (1802-1861), is holding a book or a portfolio. Alfred became Deputy of the Gers region. A gourmand, he founded the firm Vins de champagne Montebello. He married Mathilde Périer who was the niece of Casimir Périer, Minister and president du conseil of King Louis Philippe.

The third brother, Ernest, Baron of Montebello (1803-1882) wearing a military costume, is shown holding two rackets. He married, like his elder brother, a rich English woman, Mary Boddington, in 1831.

The fourth son, Gustave-Olivier, Baron of Montebello (1804-1875), is sitting on the left side of his mother, his ball next to him. He was the only son of the maréchal Lannes to make his entire career in the army. He participated in the conquest of Algeria in 1830. Général de Division, aide-de-camp and Chambellan of Napoleon III, he was decorated with the Grand-Croix of the Legion of Honour in 1864. He had married in 1847 Adrienne de Villeneuve-Bargemon, who was to become a lady in waiting to Empress Eugénie.

Holding her mother’s hand is the youngest child and only daughter, Joséphine-Louise (1806-1889); she married Hippolyte Boissel, Baron de Monville in 1823.

As is suggested by the size of the extensive park of the estate of Maisons seen in the background of the painting, the Duke and Duchess of Montebello were very wealthy. They owned several grand houses: in 1804, they bought the Hotel Kinski built by Claude-Nicolas Ledoux, located on the prestigious Faubourg Saint Germain in Paris, and the wonderful Château de Maisons, built by Mansart between 1642 and 1651. The poor condition of Maisons required important renovations, and additional large sums were spend on furniture and paintings to decorate the house according to their raised social status. In 1808, they sold the Hotel Kinski to buy the much grander Hotel de Rohan-Chabot, located in the rue de Varenne, where they could receive their guests even more sumptuously. Again, the family carried out extensive renovations and decorated the hotel with elegant furniture and works of art. It is said that the hotel was so richly furnished that, after the Duke of Montebello’s death, it took 8 days and 70 pages to inventory all the property kept there. Apart from the Château de Maisons, which the Duchess of Montebello sold in 1818 to the banker Laffitte (it still exists today, under the name of Maisons-Laffitte), the Montebellos also owned the Château de Dornes in the Nièvre (where the Duke and Duchess of Montebello were married in 1800 and which the duchess sold in 1822), and the Château de Mareuil in Champagne (which the family bought later, in 1830).

The present Portrait of the Duchess of Montebello and her Children dramatically demonstrates Gérard’s great talent as a portrait painter. His rare technical virtuosity, his great sensitivity and his deep psychological sensibility made him the most able painter of his age to render the tender affection that united this mother and her children in the most touching manner. At the same time, as an excellent painter of les grands, he managed to display the wealth and social prestige of the sitters in a painting that, though monumental and impressive, is full of life and has none of the qualities of a stiff and lifeless “official” painting. The sitters are shown in lively attitudes, either moving up or down the garden steps and the children have their toys (rackets, balls) with them. The wind gently moves the wonderfully painted transparent scarf of the Duchess, and the eldest son's black scarf. There is a contrast between the immobility of the statue and the movement of the sitters which creates an image of great presence.

As a great admirer of feminine beauty and grace, Gérard took obvious pleasure in painting the Duchess and her children’s adorable faces, with their fresh complexions and childish charm. Indeed, as her contemporaries wrote, the Duchess of Montebello herself was a very handsome woman: she was “d’une beauté impeccable, tout à la fois majestueuse et enjouée, ornée au moral de toutes les vertus qui attirent la sympathie et commandent le respect  [of impeccable beauty, at the same time majestic and playful, blessed with all the qualities attract sympathy and command respect].” Laure d’Abrantès described her as being “la copie exacte d’une des plus belles Vierges de Raphaël ou du Corrège. C’était la même pureté de traits, le même calme dans le regard, la même sérénité dans le sourire… [an exact copy of one of the most beautiful virgins by Raphael or Correggio. She had the same pure traits, the same calmness in her gaze and the same serenity in her smile].” Also, Gérard excelled in the depiction of the subtle substance of fabrics, admirably rendering the fur of the two boys’ military costumes and their wonderful gilt ornaments and buttons, the fine lace of their collars, the delicate silk of the Duchess' dress and the transparency of her scarf.

Among the 84 replicas (all kept in the Musée du Château de Versailles) painted by Gérard after his full-length portraits, sixteen are family portraits with generally one or two children. One of his first successes was actually the superb Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Isabey and his daughter (1796, Musée du Louvre, Paris) which shows the two sitters standing, facing us, with architecture framing the composition in a way that Gérard used frequently in his full length portraits. Most of the family portraits were commissioned by members of the Imperial Family and are now in museum collections. Among the most famous ones: The Duchess of Berry and Her Two Children (Musée du Château de Versailles), Hortense Queen of Holland and Her Son (Musée de Fontainebleau), Julie Clary Queen of Naples and, Later, of Spain, and Her Two Daughters (Dublin National Gallery of Ireland), The Empress Marie Louise and the King of Rome (Musée du Château de Versailles), and also the very impressive official portrait of Caroline Murat Queen of Naples and her Four Children (see fig. 3, Musée de Fontainebleau).

Due to Lannes' celebrity, a number of portraits were executed and several of them were exhibited the year after his death at the Paris Salon in 1810. First among these was a large portrait by Gérard (see note above, illustration of the small replica fig. 1). There was also the Apotheosis of the Duke of Montebello by Armand-Julien Pallière, two paintings showing The Last Moments of the Duke of Montebello: one by Benjamin Zix, the other one by Albert-Paul Bourgeois. Théodore Géricault himself depicted Lannes in a drawing kept in the Musée des Beaux Arts de Rouen entitled Lannes à Saint Jean d’Acre. Several sculptures of Lannes also survive, the most famous one being the colossal statue by Cortot (1831) which is now in Lectoure (where Lannes was born). Unfortunately none of these can be identified with the sculpture that is depicted in the painting. There is also a beautiful portrait of the Duchess of Montebello by Pierre-Paul Prud’hon (Zurich, Fondation Rau pour le Tiers-Monde, see fig. 4). Jean-Baptiste Isabey, an associate of Gerard, painted a miniature portrait of her (see figure 5). It is said that Marie-Louise, who was very generous with her dame d’honneurs offered the Duchess several portraits by Isabey (who was Marie-Louise’s drawing teacher) as well as a beautifully decorated portrait of her five children.

We are thankful to Alain Latreille for his assistance in the cataloguing of this lot.