Young Woman Drawing
I first locked eyes with Charlotte du Val d'Ognes while studying art in college. Or maybe 'locked eyes' is the wrong term, since she can only look and cannot see. She came into my life when a professor asked us to do a charcoal value study of a colorful painting. While searching for a subject that fit the assignment her image connected with me. Fascinated, I set out to learn her history and found that a woman had painted her in 1801, but for over a century the portrait had been mistakenly credited to a man, Jacques-Louis David. Eventually it was discovered that Marie Denise Villers was the true artist, which led to surprising consequences within the art world.
During the years while David was thought to be the creator the portrait was lauded as a masterpiece, became hugely popular, and found a home in the Metropolitan Museum of Art in 1917. However, a discovery in the 1950's revealed that David could not have been responsible, and that the artist was likely a woman named Constance Marie Charpentier. After this revelation, accolades faded to harsh criticisms which devalued the painting. Art critic James Laver went so far as to say: “Although the painting is extremely attractive as a period piece, there are certain weaknesses of which a painter of David’s caliber would not have been guilty.”
Initially, the painting was tentatively credited to Charpentier until additional research in 1996 led to the discovery that the piece belonged to Villers. She had studied art at the Louvre as a young woman around the time of the French Revolution, and d’Ognes, the woman in the painting, had been a fellow classmate. This work may have been a collaborative piece expressing their shared struggles. Beyond its beautiful lighting contrasts and delicate attention to the folds of fabric, this painting conceals a message begging to be recognized. D’Ognes stares intently at the viewer. Her eyes implore us to look deeper and understand the struggles that lie in the path of female artists. She sits in darkness, surrounded by an empty room. Visible through a cracked windowpane in the background a man and a woman, obviously lovers, linger together. It is argued that the woman in the distance and in the foreground are the same person. Their distance represents two different paths, and one urgent choice. The painting asks us to examine what women, particularly artists, give up in exchange for partnership and marriage. At the time the painting was created, pursuing both career and romance were incompatible for women. They often had to choose one over the other. At this point in history, to choose a career in art meant risking poverty and increased scrutiny. In fact, just a few years after this painting was created Napoleonic rule banned all women from studying the arts or exhibiting their work. Ultimately, d’Ognes married after soon art school. Villers married and attempted to continue her career in the arts until 1814, when she, too, stopped painting.
Though much time has passed and progress has been made, in some ways this issue is still relevant for many women in the arts. We often have to struggle to validate our artistic pursuit and find a balance between art, home, marriage and children. Fortunate are the female artists supported with encouragement and respect by their families. Others continue to strive to carry on and step over the obstacles as their mothers and grandmothers have done before. Ladies…Create On.
This master copy, alongside the works of many other talented artists, will be featured in the upcoming Berks Art Alliance exhibition celebrating Women in the Arts. I will be speaking about her story at the reception on Sunday February 16 at 3:45 pm at the Yocum Institute. Join us to hear it for yourself.
