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Bust of la Marquise de la Valette

Bust
1861-2 (Made)
Artist/Maker
Place of origin

The Marquise de la Valette, née Adeline Fowle, was born in 1799. She married first in 1816 Samuel Welles Boston, who died in 1841; and second, in 1842, Charles Jean Marie Félix, Marquis de la Valette (sometime Foreign Minister under Napoleon III and Ambassador in London). She died in 1869.

The Marquis de la Valette was Ambassador to the Vatican from August 1861 to October 1862 while Carpeaux was a student in Rome. Carpeaux wrote to the Comte de Nieuwerkerke, on 21 January 1862, that the Marquis had commissioned him to create a bust of the Marquise. He added: 'It was a stroke of good fortune which will give me, if I succeed, a place beside my masters'. The bust was well received in Rome and the Marquise afterwards introduced Carpeaux to the Princess Mathilde, Napoleon III.

This is one of several contemporary plaster casts taken from the original plaster model, now in the Louvre, which was used by Carpeaux to create a bust in marble of the Marquise (now in a French private collection).

Object details

Categories
Object type
TitleBust of la Marquise de la Valette (generic title)
Materials and techniques
Plaster
Brief description
Bust, plaster, La Marquise de la Valette, by Jean-Baptiste Carpeaux, France, 1861-2
Physical description
The sitter is portrayed facing slightly to her left, wearing a tiara, and six strings of beads around her neck.
Dimensions
  • Height: 64cm
  • Width: 61cm
  • Depth: 32cm
  • Weight: 32kg
Credit line
Given by Art Fund to the Tate Gallery and transferred to the V&A
Object history
The Marquise de la Valette, née Adeline Fowle, was born in 1799. She married first in 1816 Samuel Welles Boston, who died in 1841; and second in 1842, Charles Jean Marie Félix, Marquis de la Valette (sometime Foreign Minister under Napoleon III and Ambassador in London). She died in 1869.

The Marquis de la Valette was Ambassador to the Vatican from August 1861 to October 1862 while Carpeaux was a student in Rome. Carpeaux wrote to the Comte de Nieuwerkerke, on 21 January 1862, that the Marquis had commissioned him to create a bust of the Marquise. He added: 'It was a stroke of good fortune which will give me, if I succeed, a place beside my masters'. The bust was well received in Rome and the Marquise afterwards introduced Carpeaux to the Princess Mathilde, Napoleon III.

This is one of several contemporary plaster casts taken from the original plaster model, now in the Louvre, which was used by Carpeaux to create a bust in marble of the Marquise (now in a French private collection).
Subject depicted
Summary
The Marquise de la Valette, née Adeline Fowle, was born in 1799. She married first in 1816 Samuel Welles Boston, who died in 1841; and second, in 1842, Charles Jean Marie Félix, Marquis de la Valette (sometime Foreign Minister under Napoleon III and Ambassador in London). She died in 1869.

The Marquis de la Valette was Ambassador to the Vatican from August 1861 to October 1862 while Carpeaux was a student in Rome. Carpeaux wrote to the Comte de Nieuwerkerke, on 21 January 1862, that the Marquis had commissioned him to create a bust of the Marquise. He added: 'It was a stroke of good fortune which will give me, if I succeed, a place beside my masters'. The bust was well received in Rome and the Marquise afterwards introduced Carpeaux to the Princess Mathilde, Napoleon III.

This is one of several contemporary plaster casts taken from the original plaster model, now in the Louvre, which was used by Carpeaux to create a bust in marble of the Marquise (now in a French private collection).
Bibliographic references
  • Alley, R, Catalogue of the Tate Gallery, London, 1959, pp.25-6, No. 4198 (where further references are given).
  • Sur les traces de J. B. Carpeaux (exhibition catalogue), Paris, Grand Palais, 1975, cat nos. 89-91.
Collection
Accession number
A.17-1984

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Record createdSeptember 26, 2005
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