Auguste Sandoz (active France, 1793 - 1796)
Marie de Rabutin-Chantal, Marquise de Sévigné, late 19th century
Engraving
This vertical engraving with shows a light-skinned woman looking toward us with a slight smile. Her light-colored hair is flat on top but poofs out on either side of her face in long coils, some of which reach her bare shoulders. Her mid-tone low-cut gown is draped across her bosom, with a bow at the front and at the side, and she wears a pearl choker necklace at her neck. She is set against a black background in an oval frame with floral ornamentation, with a shield hanging at the bottom that includes a crown and two oval coats of arms. The oval frame is superimposed on a rectangular frame. In a horizontal panel at the bottom of the rectangular frame, the portrait is identified as that of the Marquise de Sévigné, with further details about her. The engraving is itself matted and set in a slender frame with a delicate bow-like projection at the center top.
Long Gallery
Commentary
Isabella Stewart Gardner kept meticulous records of many of her acquisitions. In keeping with this legacy, object information is continually being reviewed, updated, and enriched in order to give greater access to the collection.