A young girl
Bust
ca. 1770-90 (made)
ca. 1770-90 (made)
| Artist/Maker | |
| Place of origin |
A portrait of a young girl in marble by the French Sculptor Jacques Saly is mentioned (by French Sculptor/Historian Stanislas Lami) as being exhibited at the Salon in Paris in 1750. The art collector and connoisseur Mariette mentions (in 1753) a pretty head of a young girl, in marble, being sculpted by Saly in Rome. Various versions of this bust survive, and a number of writers have discussed them. These include another marble version, thought to be the original (in a private collection), and other versions in terracotta, bronze and faience.
The V&A bust is thought to be an early (second half of 18th century) copy of the original model. It is quite likely to be by Saly himself, but it is not signed.
There has been some debate about the identity of the sitter. She has been thought in the past to be Alexandrine d'Etoilles (daughter of Mme de Pompadour) and - subsequently - the daughter of Jean-Francois de Troy, Director of the French Academy in Rome when Saly had studied there in the 1740s. Both theories have now been discounted, so her identity remains unknown.
Francois Boucher (1703-1770) reproduced Saly's bust in a panel entitled 'The Arts and Sciences: Painting and Sculpture'; part of series he painted for Madame de Pompadour in 1750-52 (possibly for the Chateau de Crecy). This, along with other panels, are on display in the Frick Collection, New York. Saly's bust has enduring appeal and has been frequently copied, including in the nineteenth century.
Jacques François Joseph Saly, more usually known as Jacques Saly (1717-1776), was born in France and initially trained under the sculptor Guillaume Coustou. He won a place at the French Academy in Rome where he studied 1740-48. After a few years back in Paris he left for Copenhagen, arriving in 1753, as he had been recommended to create an equestrian statue of King Frederick V of Denmark to be placed in the centre of the courtyard of Amalienborg Palace. This project occupied him for many years and was finally completed in 1768. The Royal Danish Academy of Art was established in 1754 and Saly was made its Director.
The V&A bust is thought to be an early (second half of 18th century) copy of the original model. It is quite likely to be by Saly himself, but it is not signed.
There has been some debate about the identity of the sitter. She has been thought in the past to be Alexandrine d'Etoilles (daughter of Mme de Pompadour) and - subsequently - the daughter of Jean-Francois de Troy, Director of the French Academy in Rome when Saly had studied there in the 1740s. Both theories have now been discounted, so her identity remains unknown.
Francois Boucher (1703-1770) reproduced Saly's bust in a panel entitled 'The Arts and Sciences: Painting and Sculpture'; part of series he painted for Madame de Pompadour in 1750-52 (possibly for the Chateau de Crecy). This, along with other panels, are on display in the Frick Collection, New York. Saly's bust has enduring appeal and has been frequently copied, including in the nineteenth century.
Jacques François Joseph Saly, more usually known as Jacques Saly (1717-1776), was born in France and initially trained under the sculptor Guillaume Coustou. He won a place at the French Academy in Rome where he studied 1740-48. After a few years back in Paris he left for Copenhagen, arriving in 1753, as he had been recommended to create an equestrian statue of King Frederick V of Denmark to be placed in the centre of the courtyard of Amalienborg Palace. This project occupied him for many years and was finally completed in 1768. The Royal Danish Academy of Art was established in 1754 and Saly was made its Director.
Object details
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| Object type | |
| Titles |
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| Materials and techniques | Marble |
| Brief description | Bust, marble, a young girl, after a model by Jacques Saly, France, ca. 1770-90 |
| Physical description | Head and undraped shoulders of a little girl, looking downwards, with hair drawn back in three braids, knotted on the crown, with hair drawn up from the nape of the neck. |
| Dimensions |
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| Gallery label |
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| Object history | Saly exhibited a marble bust of a young girl at the Salon in 1750. The connoisseur Pierre-Jean Mariette (in 1753) mentions a pretty head of a young girl, in marble, being sculpted by Saly in Rome. The V&A bust is unsigned. It is agreed that it dates from the second half of the eighteenth century but its status is not entirely clear. It may be an early copy of a model by Saly. There has been some debate about the identity of the sitter. She was once thought to be Alexandrine d'Etiolles (daughter of Mme de Pompadour) but this has since been discounted. Michael Levey (in 1965) put forward the theory that she is in fact the daughter of Jean-Francois de Troy, Director of the French Academy in Rome when Saly had studied there in the 1740s. However, recent research has revealed that she cannot be de Troy's daughter who died very young; this bust was depicted by various artists in 1750s/60s including Boucher, and they would not have reproduced the bust of a dead child. There are a large number of versions of this bust. In particular are: - signed terracotta in the Ny Carlsberg Glytotek, Copenhagen - signed terracotta in The Louvre - signed plaster in the Rijksmuseum - unsigned plaster in the Schwerin Museum - marble formerly in the David-Weill collection (this is perhaps the original), now in a private collection - bronze in the NGA, Washington (Widener Coll) - bronze (copy in reduction) in Deutches Museum, Berlin The bust became popularly known - and still is - as 'La Boudeuse' (Bouder = to sulk, or pout, in French) Bought for 25 10s. in 1863. |
| Summary | A portrait of a young girl in marble by the French Sculptor Jacques Saly is mentioned (by French Sculptor/Historian Stanislas Lami) as being exhibited at the Salon in Paris in 1750. The art collector and connoisseur Mariette mentions (in 1753) a pretty head of a young girl, in marble, being sculpted by Saly in Rome. Various versions of this bust survive, and a number of writers have discussed them. These include another marble version, thought to be the original (in a private collection), and other versions in terracotta, bronze and faience. The V&A bust is thought to be an early (second half of 18th century) copy of the original model. It is quite likely to be by Saly himself, but it is not signed. There has been some debate about the identity of the sitter. She has been thought in the past to be Alexandrine d'Etoilles (daughter of Mme de Pompadour) and - subsequently - the daughter of Jean-Francois de Troy, Director of the French Academy in Rome when Saly had studied there in the 1740s. Both theories have now been discounted, so her identity remains unknown. Francois Boucher (1703-1770) reproduced Saly's bust in a panel entitled 'The Arts and Sciences: Painting and Sculpture'; part of series he painted for Madame de Pompadour in 1750-52 (possibly for the Chateau de Crecy). This, along with other panels, are on display in the Frick Collection, New York. Saly's bust has enduring appeal and has been frequently copied, including in the nineteenth century. Jacques François Joseph Saly, more usually known as Jacques Saly (1717-1776), was born in France and initially trained under the sculptor Guillaume Coustou. He won a place at the French Academy in Rome where he studied 1740-48. After a few years back in Paris he left for Copenhagen, arriving in 1753, as he had been recommended to create an equestrian statue of King Frederick V of Denmark to be placed in the centre of the courtyard of Amalienborg Palace. This project occupied him for many years and was finally completed in 1768. The Royal Danish Academy of Art was established in 1754 and Saly was made its Director. |
| Bibliographic references |
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| Collection | |
| Accession number | 8510-1863 |
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| Record created | June 24, 2009 |
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