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JEAN-FRANÇOIS HEIM
TABLEAUX - DESSINS - SCULPTURES
ADÈLE ROMANY
? 1769 - Paris 1846
French school
PORTRAIT OF AMÉLIE-JUSTINE AND CHARLES-ÉDOUARD PONTOIS
Oil on canvas
H. 0,919 m; W. 0,73 m (36 1/6 x 28 3/4 in)
Signed and dated lower left: Adl. Romany 1800
DATE: 1800
PROVENANCE:
Collection of the artist
With her descendants until 2008
EXHIBITED:
Paris, Salon of 1800, n° 325, Portrait d’une jeune personne et de son frère (Portrait of a
young person with her brother).
LITTERATURE:
T. Ch., Le nouveau Arlequin et son ami Gilles au Museum ou la vérité dite en plaisantant.
Critique piquante, en vaudevilles, des tableaux, dessins, sculptures et autres objets précieux,
Paris, 1800, n° 325.
Adèle Romany’s name was initially Jeanne-Marie Mercier. She was an illegitimate
daughter of the Marquis de Romance, Captain of the Guard, and of Jeanne-Marie Mercier, a
married lady. She was legitimised at the age of nine and took over her father’s name "de
Romance". When she was grown up, she changed her first name from Jeanne-Marie to Adèle.
In 1790 she got married to a painter of miniatures called François-Antoine Romany with
whom she had one daughter, Aglaé-Aimée. After their divorce in 1793 she had two
illegitimate children from two different men: Louise-Lucie Cosnefroy de Saint-Ange and
Edmond-Jules Feline.
Romany was trained in a studio for woman artists directed by the painter Jean-Baptiste
Regnault’s wife. She painted some genre scenes and also treated mythological and allegorical
subject matters, but from the very beginning she was most interested by portrait painting. She
participated in the Salon between 1793 and 1833 and showed more than 80 works there. At
134, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris, France
Tél. : +33 1 53 75 06 46 - Fax : +33 1 53 75 06 50
[email protected] - www.galerieheim.fr
Jean-François HEIM – EURL au capital de 7622,45 €
RC Paris : B 391 376 415 code APE : 525 Z
N° d’identification européen FR 32391376415
JEAN-FRANÇOIS HEIM
TABLEAUX - DESSINS - SCULPTURES
the Salon of 1808 her prolific talent was acknowledged by Napoleon, who rewarded her with
a golden medal. Romany’s portraits had indeed a great success in Paris. She was
commissioned a series of actors’ portraits to decorate the Comédie Française theatre, showing
them in the costume of their favourite role.
The present painting belongs to an unpublished and specially interesting group of
paintings. It shows another aspect of her work and allows us to learn more about her family
life. Adèle Romany depicts the two children of her cousin Charlotte-Marie Mercier: AmélieJustine and Charles-Edouard Pontois. Amélie-Justine Pontois (1788-1867) married LouisMarie-Amable Laidin de la Bouterie in 1818. Her little brother Charles-Edouard Pontois
(1792-1871) led a prestigious career. He was appointed French ambassador in Brazil, in the
United States and in Constantinople and was decorated with the Grand Officer of the "Légion
d’Honneur" and given the honorific position of Peer of France. In 1839 he was ennobled by
Louis-Philippe and became count of Pontois.
An engraving by Monsaldy and Devisme showing the walls of the Salon of 1800
allows us to identify this double-portrait with the picture presented by Romany as "Portrait of
a young person with her brother" (no. 325). This Salon was the first great success of the
young painter. A poem published in Le nouveau Arlequin et son ami Gilles au Museum ou la
vérité dite en plaisantant testifies that he present picture was surrounded by public
enthusiasm:
"Air: This is true friendship. How nice this brother is!
Arlequin: And how nice his sister is!
Gilles: I really like this brother,
Arlequin: Me, I prefer his sister.
Gilles: I would like this brother to become my sister’s boyfriend.
Arlequin: I would like my brother’s sister to become her sister-in-law.
Gilles: I think we make them laugh. Let’s stay a bit longer, they will certainly start to talk with us.
Arlequin: Good bye, charming child, I regret to leave you (…)."1
The present picture with its precise and delicate brushwork is typical of Romany’s
early style when she was influenced by Jean-Baptiste Regnault. It shows her skilful use of
colour and her virtuosity in depicting fabrics and details of costume. The bucolic
surroundings, the youthfulness of the sitters, their half-length pose and their gestures of
brotherly tenderness create an intimate atmosphere, coming straightway from the century of
Jean-Jacques Rousseau. Further more, this portrait renders clearly Romany’s affection for her
cousin’s children.
Our painting will be included in Jean-François Heim’s forthcoming book on Salon
paintings during the French Consulate and Empire (1800-1814).
1
"Air : de l’amitié vive et pure. Qu’il est gentil ce frère ! Arlequin : Qu’elle est gentille sa sœur ! Gilles : J’aime
beaucoup ce frère, Arlequin : Moi j’aime encore mieux sa sœur. Gilles : Je voudrais bien que ce frère devint
l’ami de ma sœur. Arlequin : Je voudrais que de mon frère sa sœur fut la belle-sœur. Gilles : Je crois que nous les
faisons rire. Restons un peu, ils vont sûrement nous parler. Arlequin : Adieu charmante enfant, c’est à regret que
je vous quitte (…)."
134, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris, France
Tél. : +33 1 53 75 06 46 - Fax : +33 1 53 75 06 50
[email protected] - www.galerieheim.fr
Jean-François HEIM – EURL au capital de 7622,45 €
RC Paris : B 391 376 415 code APE : 525 Z
N° d’identification européen FR 32391376415
JEAN-FRANÇOIS HEIM
TABLEAUX - DESSINS - SCULPTURES
Salon of 1800
Vue des ouvrages de peinture…
Engraving by Monsalby & Devisme
BNF, Département des Estampes, Ef. 248, pl. II.
134, rue du Faubourg Saint-Honoré, 75008 Paris, France
Tél. : +33 1 53 75 06 46 - Fax : +33 1 53 75 06 50
[email protected] - www.galerieheim.fr
Jean-François HEIM – EURL au capital de 7622,45 €
RC Paris : B 391 376 415 code APE : 525 Z
N° d’identification européen FR 32391376415