GEORGE CHINNERY (BRITISH 1774-1852)

Portrait of Mademoiselle Villars

titled on an exhibition label attached to the backboard

gouache

70 x 54 cm (27 1/2 x 21 1/4 in)

Exhibited:

Paris, Galerie Barbazanges, Les Maitres Anglais 1740-1840, Exposition de Pastels-Aquarelles et Dessins, Dec 1919 - Jan 1920, no. 17

In the catalogue of the 1919/20 exhibition Charles Oulmont describes how the painter Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun introduced the sitter to George Chinnery's wife who sought a teacher for their children. Mme Villars lived with the Chinnerys for the following two years during which time, according to Oulmont, she became the cause of some disagreements between the Chinnerys.