10 - Joseph CHINARD (Lyon, 1756–1813)

Joseph CHINARD (Lyon, 1756–1813) Portrait of Princess Élisa Bonaparte Baciocchi (1777–1820), 1805. Terracotta bust, signed on the back: “Chinard, sculptor, member of the National Institute and of the Academy.” Label on the reverse: “Rouen E. Jonas.” H. 27 cm. Provenance - Collection of the subject, Princess Élisa Bonaparte Baciocchi (1777–1820). - Then possibly the collection of her brother, Prince Lucien Bonaparte (1775–1840). - Collection of the Count of Penha-Longa (1871–1956). - Sold at auction in 1911, lot 38. - Collection of Édouard Jonas (1883–1961). - Collection of Prime Minister Édouard Herriot (1872–1957), then passed down through his descendants. - Private collection, Lyon. Exhibitions Exhibition of works by the sculptor Chinard, of Lyon (1756–1813), Pavillon de Marsan (Louvre Palace), November 1909–January 1910, Union Centrale des Arts Décoratifs, no. 67. - Napoleon and His Time, Rouen, 1934, no. 229. History In 1805, Élisa, the eldest daughter of the Bonaparte family, received the principality of Piombino from her brother Napoleon I, to which the principality of Lucca was added a few months later. Ambitious and a shrewd politician—the sister who most resembled the Emperor—she governed her states as a true stateswoman. She surrounded herself with the finest artists of her time and took a particular interest in sculpture, to which she brought new vitality in Italy. It was in this context that, in 1805, Joseph Chinard, a sculptor from Lyon then living in Lucca, modeled our bust in terracotta, along with its counterpart, the portrait of Félix Baciocchi, Élisa’s husband. The princess is depicted in court dress, her head crowned with a diadem that affirms her rank as the new sovereign. These two terracotta works served as models for two life-size marble sculptures. Elisa’s bust, presented at the 1808 Salon, is now in a private Italian collection (ill. 1). It is the first official sculpted portrait of the Princess of Piombino and Lucca. Our work can therefore be considered the first model in the “Napoleonides” series. Initiated by Elisa, this project involved creating a series of busts of members of the Bonaparte clan, in the style of a sculpted family album. Lorenzo Bartolini was the principal artist behind this project. Appointed in 1808 as director of the Academy of Fine Arts in Carrara, he created a new official portrait of the sovereign the very next year (ill. 2). The bust modeled by Chinard in 1805 is meticulously described by Gérard Hubert in his book *Sculpture in Napoleonic Italy*. Standing 27 cm tall, it bears the signature “CHINARD STATUAIRE AC DE L’INSTITUT NATIONAL MEMBRE DE PLUSIEURS ACADÉMIES.” This description matches our work in every respect, and its provenance confirms that it is indeed the same bust. In the early 20th century, the terracotta model was found in the most important collection of Chinard’s works, that of the Count of Penha-Longa. It was the subject of an article in the journal *Les Arts* in 1909, in which our bust is reproduced (p. 18), before being exhibited in 1909–1910 at the retrospective dedicated to the artist at the Louvre (ill. 3). The work then reappeared in Rouen in 1934, at the exhibition “Napoleon and His Time,” and at that time belonged to Édouard Jonas, who was the very first curator of the Musée Cognacq-Jay in Paris. The label “Rouen E. Jonas” that it still bears confirms once again the identification of our terracotta piece. It was subsequently acquired by Édouard Herriot, President of the Council and mayor of Lyon, who thus brought a work by the artist back to his hometown. It was subsequently preserved by his descendants. One question remains, however. In a letter dated October 1, 1805, addressed to Lucien, her favorite brother, Élisa informs him that she had asked Boyer—Lucien’s brother-in-law—to send him her bust and that of her husband, both created by Chinard. She notes that these portraits were deemed “very lifelike.” Our work may therefore be the one that Élisa sent to her brother. It is also possible that the princess sent him a replica and kept the original in her own collection. In either case, this prestigious provenance attests to the exceptional quality of our bust and to the talent of Joseph Chinard. Joseph Chinard was born in Lyon on February 12, 1756. Initially destined for the priesthood, he showed a serious aptitude for sculpture from an early age. He took classes at the École de dessin under the guidance of the painter Donat Nonotte (1708–1785), before joining the studio of the sculptor Barthélemy Blaise (1738–1819). He traveled to Rome to further his training, where he copied ancient sculptures, and in 1786 he won the conc