Pauline AUZOU (Paris, 1775-1835)

Provenance:
• France, private collection

Bibliography:
• A. S. Harris and L. Nochlin, *Women Artists: 1550–1950*, Los Angeles, 1976
• V. P. Cameron, *Portrait of a Musician by Pauline Auzou*, in *The Currier Gallery of Art*, no. 2, Manchester, 1974
• Clement-Hemery, *Souvenirs de 1793 et 1794*, Cambrai, 1832
• Amandine Corse, *Introduction. Plumes et Pinceaux: Discours de femmes sur l’art en Europe (1750–1850) – Anthology*, Dijon, Les Presses du réel, 2012
• A. B. Sutherland Harris and L. Nochlin, *Women Artists, 1550–1950*, [exh. cat.], Los Angeles, Co. Mus. A., 1977

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At the dawn of the Revolution, out of the 400 active "painter-artists" recorded, only 10% were women. Among them, the young Pauline Auzou (née Desmarquest) began her artistic training by joining the newly established women’s studio of the renowned history painter Jean-Baptiste Regnault (1754–1829). Supervised by his wife Sophie, the studio, located in the painter’s apartment at the Louvre, went on to train a record number of 34 female exhibitors at the Salon. Regnault was not the only one to support female artists: at the Salon, young students of David, Vincent, and Suvée—until his departure for Rome in 1801—competed in excellence. Naturally, Auzou was introduced to her master’s specialities: portraiture and history painting. This required studying from live models, a practice hindered by notions of propriety at the time, which prevented female artists from attending life drawing classes featuring the nude. Like some of her contemporaries, however, Auzou seems to have had access to such privileged lessons.

With artistic ambitions equal to those of men, Auzou excelled in history painting and took great pleasure in practising portraiture through numerous sketches. Like our drawing, several other works by the artist showcase studies captured in the moment, reworked with stumping and highlighted with chalk or pastel, often deliberately left unfinished (ill. 1). One such example is the study of a young boy resting his head on his right arm (ill. 2). On a sheet of chamois-coloured paper similar to our piece, Auzou used black chalk reinforced with charcoal to outline the softly rounded features of the face, capturing the youthful innocence of the model. In her pursuit of truthful expression and the liveliness of the gaze, she applied white chalk with meticulous precision to highlight key points of light: a delicate touch enhances the bridge of the nose, while others bring the model’s pupils to life.

With keen attention to detail, Pauline Auzou rendered her sitters’ psychology with remarkable acuity. Her virtuosity is evident in the care she devoted to every element of the composition, from the individually drawn strands of hair—whose volume is accentuated through careful blending—to the subtle nuances of expression. The size of the work, its quality, and the finesse of execution reflect the dexterity of this remarkable female artist, praised by her contemporaries and exhibiting at the Salon from as early as 1793, when she was just 18 years old.

M.O