Marie-Anne TOUDOUZE, Portrait of a young girl

Marie-Anne TOUDOUZE 1857-

The Toudouzes are a large family of artists.

They were architects, writers, painters, illustrators... In this family, the women were as talented as the men.

Marie-Anne was a pupil and then the wife of Édouard Toudouze (1848-1907). She exhibited her work at the Salon des Aortites français. She received several awards for her paintings: 1901 honourable mentions, 1904 third class medals.

According to some sources, she was described as a painter of flowers and still life, yet the few paintings we know of represent portraits of young women alone, sitting at their toilet or in their gardens.

Her paintings are delicate, with a fine technique and great luminosity.

The soft, milky skin of our model, just enhanced by the light red of her lips, reminds us of the idyllic portraits by Jean Honoré Fragonard. The subtle veil of her dress and the more pronounced touches of lace bring to mind the portraits of the Impressionists and Berthe Morisot.