Catalogues

Lady in Riding Dress with Dog, Possibly Marie Françoise Catherine Marquise de Boufflers

An unknown lady had herself portrayed in a lavishly wrought rust-coloured riding dress under which she wears a white waistcoat with long tails adorned by a likewise rust-coloured embroidery. The lady sits on a chair with pink upholstery and rests her right arm on a table on which lies a sealed letter. In her left arm she holds a dog wearing a precious collar and devotedly looking up to her. The lady's headdress, a red hood tapering on her forehead and tapering off with a point at her neck, is quite unusual.

In her right hand, the sitter holds a map on which is written "Lorraine" and which thus possibly gives a clue to her identity. In her facial features, the lady resembles Marie Françoise Catherine de Beauvau-Craon (1711-1787), Marquise de Boufflers-Remiencourt. ¹ However, the possibility of comparing the two ladies is limited by the sitter's peculiar headdress. Born in Lunéville in Lorraine, Beauvau-Craon married Louis François de Boufflers in 1735. She was considered to have had an excellent breeding and education, being both beautiful and clever. She wrote poetry and painted in pastel. In 1745, Lorraine was adjudged to the Polish king Stanislaus I Leszczynski for life. At the court of Lunéville, the Marquise de Boufflers became at first lady-in-waiting to the Polish queen and in 1745 Maîtresse en titre of the latter's husband.

J.S.O.

¹ Cf. the painting by Jean-Marc Nattier showing the Marquise de Boufflers personifying a source (private collection). We are grateful to Iszabela Wiercinska, National Museum Warsaw, for the information.