LIOTARD, Étienne

This genre scene of an interior was probably painted in Holland around 1755-56. In it the painter perfectly expressed his admiration for the Dutch genre painters of the Golden Age. The fact that the picture is on canvas is unusual in Liotard’s oeuvre, for typically his usual medium was pastel on paper.

The table top is slightly tilted so that the artist can give full rein to his skill in rendering its polished blue surface and the depiction of the porcelain and silver on a red lacquer tray that comprises the coffee service.

In an annotation on the verso, the painter gave the identity of the represented Protestant lady: “Anne Molesnes, born in Lyon, 9 August 1684 baptised in the reformed church of St Romain. Wife of Jean Tronchin, former conseiller d’�tat, painted by Mr Lean �tienne Liotard in Geneva in the month of August 1758 at the age of seventy-four.”

Liotard had visited all the great cities of Europe, and had painted portraits of Pope Clemens XIII and Empress Maria Theresia by the time he returned to his home town of Geneva as portraitist to high society.

This painting represents Marie-Adelaide (1732-1800), the third daughter of Louis XV.

Liotard, the great pastelist, emphasized colours. Apart from several pale, light-coloured works dominated by shades of white, we also find in his oeuvre some ‘folkloric’ Turkish scenes and portraits in which a strong and richly contrasted colouring is created by adding extra pigmentation to the chalks. He bans shadow from his work.

This pastel drawing depicts Fran�ois Tronchin, a prominent figure in his native Geneva and an impassioned patron of the arts. The table before Tronchin features a book, mathematical instruments, and papers that indicate his interests in architecture and music. Rembrandt’s Lady in Bed, a painting that the Dutch master created around 1648 (today in the collection of the Scottish National Gallery) and the most highly prized painting in Tronchin’s collection, rests on an easel nearby.

Liotard considered the portrait of Tronchin among his finest works, and the meticulous rendering of the sitter’s powdered wig, transparent flesh, and lace cuffs suggest the skill he had developed in pastel at this time.

Liotard was an inveterate traveler. In particular he lived in Constantinople for four years. Like other European expatriates, he adopted local dress, but unlike them he continued his exotic ways upon his return, and was known as “the Turkish painter.” He made many self-portraits throughout his career.

The summit of Liotard’s virtuosity as a pastellist is in the Chocolate Girl. Here the medium challenges the power of oil paint. Smooth as velvet in surface, and with its own bloom, pastel is made to simulate a gamut of textures and dazzling effects - of which the most brilliant is the glass of water on the tray the girl is holding.

This masterpiece of the artist was highly praised by the contemporaries for the perfect technique in use of the pastel.

From 1738 to 1743, Liotard lived in Constantinople, where he learned the Turkish language and adopted the local clothing and life-style. The attention to detail in this painting indicates his astute powers of observation as well as his technical brilliance. Liotard’s fame is founded primarily on his qualities as a pastellist and this painting is an oil replica of a smaller pastel (Zurich, private collection). This allowed him to explore other aspects of the subject matter and set other accents.

The woman in this painting has the perfectly groomed face and pale complexion of a Frenchwoman whose picturesque pose seems to clash with the sumptuous richness of the costume and the setting. “Turquerie” was a popular exotic fashion imported during the Rococo period and this is not only the subject matter of the painting, but is also evident in the painterly techniques. The contrast between the “pastel style” and the “oil painting” indicates that this is a precious model in disguise who wishes to be recognized as such.