Charles émile Auguste Carolus-duran, Portrait Of Jeanne Samary, From The Comédie Française

Charles Émile Auguste DURAND, known as CAROLUS-DURAN (Lille, 1837 – Paris, 1917)
Portrait of Jeanne Samary, from the Comédie-Française
Oil on canvas mounted on panel
43 x 36 cm
Wooden and gilded stucco frame decorated with acanthus leaves in the corners, 19th century
Dimensions with frame: 66 x 60 cm

Note: Léonie Pauline Jeanne Samary (Paris, 1857 – Paris, 1890) is a famous actress of the Comédie-Française at the end of the 19th century. Renoir made a dozen portraits of her between 1877 and 1880. Subsequently, she preferred more academic painters: Louise Abbéma, Ferdinand Humbert and Carolus-Duran. The present portrait is the one produced by Carolus-Duran around 1885, preparatory to the one exhibited in the Grand Escalier of the Comédie Française. We could say that the final version is the portrait of the actress as she should be and that our painting is her portrait as she was. To satisfy his client, Carolus-Duran in fact idealized her somewhat, by refining the features of her face, to give her an appearance more consistent with her status as rival of Sarah Bernhardt.
Additional note: a copy of the certificate of authenticity from the artist's descendant will be given to the buyer.