Marguerite-Juliette Pierret
Eugène Delacroix·c. 1827
Historical Context
Delacroix's Marguerite-Juliette Pierret from around 1827 is an intimate portrait of a young woman from his close circle — possibly related to the Pierret family who were among his oldest friends in Paris. Delacroix's private portraits of friends and acquaintances are among his most psychologically searching works, freed from the social obligations of commissioned portraiture to pursue direct observation. The work dates from the period between the Massacre at Chios (1824) and the Liberty Leading the People (1830), when Delacroix was moving from Philhellene political subjects toward the North African journey that would transform his color and light. This intimate portrait shows a different register of his talent from his public historical painting.
Technical Analysis
Delacroix renders the young woman with warm, luminous flesh tones and the fluid, atmospheric brushwork that characterizes his portrait style. The composition is intimate and direct, focusing on the sitter's face with sympathetic warmth. The palette is rich and warm, with the loose handling creating a sense of vivid, immediate presence.
Provenance
The sitter's mother, Mme J.-B. Pierret, until at least 1885. Presumably inherited by the sitter's sister Anne-Claire Pierret (Mme C. F. Vila). Mme E. Carlier (née Vila), the sitter's niece, who gave it to Mme Nicour, her stepdaughter (d. 1925). By her request to Mme Madeleine Oberthur (née Jouanneau), great-grandniece of the sitter, Rennes, until 1958. Mrs. Walter Feilchenfeldt, Zurich. Mr. and Mrs. Severance A. Millikin, Cleveland, 1958. Given to the CMA in 1964.
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