Large Pastel Of A Young Girl With A Lyre Signed By Laurent Grimod De La Reynière (1734-1793)

Our portrait of a young girl playing the lyre is a pastel version of the oil painting painted in 1780 by Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun, which is in the Cincinnati Art Museum. Our pastel was executed six years later by Laurent Grimod de la Reynière. He dated and signed it in the center left corner. His work is faithful to the original and its dimensions are almost the same: 88.9 cm x 72.4 cm for Le Brun and 91 cm x 70 cm for de la Reynière.

Who was this aristocratic pastel artist?

Born in 1734, he belonged to the third generation of tax collectors in his family, responsible for collecting taxes on behalf of the king. His grandfather had been ennobled in 1697. Laurent married far above his rank, marrying Suzanne-Françoise de Jarente d'Orgeval in 1758. She welcomed illustrious figures from literature and the arts into her salon, including her friend Elisabeth Vigée Le Brun.

According to Neil Jeffares, author of the "Dictionary of Pastelists before 1800," Vigée Le Brun commented on de la Reynière, saying: "Grimod's two passions were singing and painting." The same author states that de la Reynière copied paintings by Boucher, Greuze, and Vigée Le Brun. He compiled a list of Grimod pastels that he was able to trace. Ours is also included.
It was sold in 1975 at Oger in Paris for 3,500 francs.

This pastel is not only a high-quality copy of a painting by Vigée Le Brun, but also illustrates and documents the intense cultural life of the Parisian salons of the 1780s.

The portrait is in very good condition. Some slight traces of moisture are noted (see photo). It has its original frame and blown-glass window.