Portrait of Theresia, Countess Kinsky
1793
Elisabeth Louise Vigée-LeBrun (French, 1755-1842)
On View

As a devoted Monarchist and friend of the Queen, Marie-Antoinette, Vigée-Lebrun chose exile during the French Revolution. While in Vienna in 1793, she produced this image of Theresia, Countess Kinsky. The Countess was the unfortunate victim of an arranged marriage. Her husband, a man whom she had never met, abandoned her at the church immediately after their wedding, and returned to his mistress. Clearly, Vigée-Lebrun was captivated by the beauty and amiable character of Countess Kinsky, as well as by her sad history.

Details

  • Artist Name: Elisabeth Louise Vigée-LeBrun (French, 1755-1842)
  • Title: Portrait of Theresia, Countess Kinsky
  • Date: 1793
  • Medium: Oil on canvas
  • Dimensions: 54-1/8 x 39-3/8 in. (137.5 x 100.0 cm)
  • Credit Line: Norton Simon Art Foundation
  • Accession Number: M.1969.03.P
  • Copyright: © Norton Simon Art Foundation

Object Information

Thérèse, Countess Kinsky (née Princesse de Dietrichstein, wife of Count Merveldt, near relative of the Clam-Galas), Vienna, by descent to;
Counts Clam-Gallas, Waehringerstrasse, Vienna, by descent to;
Eleonore, Princess Schwartzenberg (née Clam-Gallas, second wife of Count Radslav Kinsky), Kinsky Palace, Prague, after 1948 moved to Husova 23, Prague, and still there in 1958, given to;
Dr. Antonin de Celerin (secretary to Count Kinsky), Prague, after WWII, sold to;
Ivan L. and Maria Jana (née Kolowrat) Laxa, Cambridge, Massachusetts, sold 2 July 1968 for $14,000 to;
[Schaeffer Galleries, Inc., New York; sold 3 January 1969 to];
Norton Simon Art Foundation.

[on loan]

  • Los Angeles County Museum of Art, 1969-07-09 to 1972-07-07

[on loan]

  • New York, Metropolitan Museum of Art, 1969-03 to 1969-07

[on loan]

  • California Palace of the Legion of Honor, 1974-08 to 1976-07

A Revolution of the Palette: The First Synthetic Blues and their Impact on French Artists

  • Norton Simon Museum, 2015-07-17 to 2016-01-04

Reinstallation of Galleries: Art History of the 17th and 18th Century Gains Fresh Dimension

  • Norton Simon Museum, 1993-09-02 to 1995-08-13

Selections from the Norton Simon, Inc. Museum of Art

  • Princeton University Art Museum, 1972-12-03 to 1974-07-17
  • Steadman, David W., Art Journal, pp. 34-40
  • Baillio, J., Gazette des Beaux-Arts, p. 166
  • Brommer, G., Discovering Art History, p. 339/ p. 339
  • Los Angeles Times, p. E8
  • Vigée-Lebrun, E., Souvenirs de Mme. Vigée Lebrun, 1869, pp. 269-271 (I); p. 368 (II)
  • Nolhac, P. de, Vigée-Lebrun, peintre de la Reine Marie Antoinette, 1908, p. 107
  • Blum, A., Mme. Vigée-Lebrun, peintre des grandes dames du XVIIIe siècle, 1914, 63, 101
  • Helm, W., Vigée-Lebrun, 1915, pp. 118, 202
  • Masterpieces from the Norton Simon Museum, 1989, p. 110
  • Walczak, Gerrit, Elisabeth Vigée-Lebrun in der Emigration: Eine europäische Karriere, 1789-1802, 2004, pp. 32-33
  • Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. 567 p. 313
  • Patrick Wald-Lasowski, "Souvenirs" by Ms. Vigée-Lebrun, 2015, p. 87
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