Jacques-François-Joseph Saly (Valenciennes 1717 - 1776 Paris), Circa 1750-1755

Sotheby's Paris, 7 November 2013, lot 224;

Where acquired by Aso O. Tavitian.

X. Salmon, Madame de Pompadour et les Arts, exh. cat., Versailles 2002, p. 518-519;

M. Levey, ‘A new identity for Saly’s Bust of a young girl’, in The Burlington Magazine 1965, p. 91;

M. Beaulieu, ‘La fillette aux nattes de Saly', in Bulletin de la Société de l'Histoire de l'Art Français, 1955, pp. 62-66;

D. Walker, Art in Rome in the 18th century, exh. cat., Philadelphia Museum of Art 2000, p. 285, no. 154.

Jacques Saly created his Bust of Young Girl with Braids during his time at the French Academy in Rome, around 1740 - 1744. Since its creation, the work has enjoyed immense popularity. Saly exhibited the marble version at the Salon of 1750 (no. 147) and the plaster version appeared at the Copenhagen exhibition in 1769. The bust can also be found referenced in two works by Saly's contemporaries; the first in a caricature of the sculptor, made in 1744 by the painter Pier Leone Ghezzi (1674-1755), and the second in a painting by François Boucher, entitled The Arts and Sciences: Painting and Sculpture in the Frick Collection, New York (acc. no. 1916.1.10). The renowned painter, Charles Le Brun described the moment when Saly presented the marble to King Louis XV in his Almanach, "...before the eyes of His Majesty, a child's head in marble, which he had composed & executed in Rome. His Majesty deigned to show him his satisfaction, in the most flattering manner ..."¹

There has been some debate about the identity of the sitter. Several scholars have found similarities to the portrait of Alexandrine d'Etiolles, the daughter of Madame de Pompadour and others to the daughter of Jean-François de Troy, director of the Académie de France in Rome. It seems unlikely, however, that it is a portrait of a specific child, but rather a personification of an expression or a caricature of a young Boudeuse, as she was described in the 19th century sales catalogues.

In addition to the aforementioned marble bust exhibited at the Salon of 1750 (now in a private collection), there is a marble version at the Victoria and Albert Museum, London (acc. no. 8510-1863), and another in a private collection. The terracotta model is preserved at the Musée du Louvre, Paris (acc. no. RF1840). A bronze version, which belonged to Baron Roger de Sivry, Marquis de Ménars and is now at the National Gallery in Washington (acc. no. 1942.9.128), is very close to the present example. This bust is remarkable for the quality of its casting, which accurately renders the features of the young girl's face. The treatment of her hair is particularly fine, with careful hammering and chiseling, giving an exceptional plasticity and freshness to this cast.

¹Le Brun, Almanach historique et raisonné des architectes, peintres et sculpteurs, Paris 1777, p. 134.