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Portrait of a Lady at a Pianoforte
Adèle Romany (French, 1769–1846)
about 1808
Medium/Technique
Oil on canvas
Dimensions
129.5 x 94 cm (51 x 37 in.)
Credit Line
Seth K. Sweetser Fund
Accession Number2014.1010
CollectionsEurope
ClassificationsPaintings
Romany depicts a female student or companion of the popular composer Joseph Dominique Fabry Garat standing at a pianoforte, her right hand absentmindedly tapping the piano keys while her left holds a musical score titled with Garat’s name. An inscription on the instrument identifies the esteemed piano maker Sébastien Érard, whose technical innovations are still used in the manufacture of modern pianos today.
Signed
Signed 'Adl Romany' (lower left)
Inscriptionsinscribed 'RECUEIL DE ROMANCES PAR GARAT JEUNE Son Ami ZUASNAVAR Enregistré à la Biblioth... Auteur Fabry Garat' (on the manuscript); and inscribed 'Èrard et Fr Privilégiée du Roi à Paris' (on the pianoforte)
Provenance1950s, sold by the Maison Jansen, Paris, to a member of the Scarpa family, São Paulo, Brazil and Florida; June 5, 2013, consigned anonymously by the Scarpa family (“property from a private Florida collection”) for sale, Christie’s, New York, lot 104, bought in; June 4, 2014, sale (“collection of the Scarpa family”), Christie’s, New York, lot 81, sold to the MFA. (Accession Date: June 25, 2014)