Charles Victoire Frédéric Moench

Charles Moench (1784 – 1867) was a pupil of Anne-Louis Girodet and having completed his training on a trip to Italy, he shadowed and then succeeded his father, Simon Frédéric Moench, as official painter-decorator to the King, Louis Philippe I, and the Duke of Orléans. Many of the paintings commissioned by Louis-Philippe can still be seen in the Galerie de Diane and the Salle des Gardes at the Château de Fontainebleau, and Moench also restored the chapel at the Château de Versailles and collaborated with his brother Auguste on the decoration of the Salle Clarac in the Louvre.

In the present painting, executed in 1816, Moench depicts a richly dressed young woman, une élégante, wearing clothes which illustrate the transformation which was happening in French fashion at the time. The rich Kashmir shawl over her arm was a coveted accessory popularised by Empress Josephine, and the “Mamluk” sleeves rendered here in a luxurious gauzy material, had been in vogue since 1798, when French soldiers brought it back from Egypt. The waistline is dropped to just above the hips and the colour white, symbol of purity and evocative of Graeco-Roman statuary, is still prevalent but enhanced by touches of blue such as the trimming, belt and ribbons on the sleeves.

The influence of Girodet is evident in his handling of the paint and his rendering of flesh, the face and throat are modelled with a delicate sfumato and a palette of soft pinks, giving a diaphanous complexion reminiscent of his teacher’s female figures. Moench’s meticulous rendering of different textures and fabrics and his attention to detail also show an influence from Ingres’ portraits.

The rarity of this type of work in the artist’s corpus, the scale of the canvas and the quality of its execution make this a unique masterpiece in Charles Moench’s oeuvre.