Portrait of Jeanne Proust by Anaïs Beauvais — December 2021

The portrait of Jeanne Proust by Anaïs Beauvais ranks among the masterpieces in the collection of the Musée Marcel-Proust – Maison de Tante Léonie, in Illiers-Combray. The only known pictorial representation of the writer's mother, the work combines documentary rarity with undeniable artistic quality. Given to the Société des Amis de Marcel Proust et des Amis de Combray in 1971 by Suzy Mante-Proust, Marcel Proust's niece, the painting has been on view to museum visitors ever since.

On the occasion of the major exhibitions commemorating the centenary of Marcel Proust's death in 2022, two institutions requested its loan: the Musée Carnavalet – Histoire de Paris and the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du judaïsme. This brochure accompanies this exceptional moment with texts by Évelyne Bloch-Dano, Madame Proust's biographer, and Oriane Beaufils, curator, who present in turn the sitter and the portraitist.

Overview

Painted in 1880, the portrait depicts Jeanne Proust at the age of thirty. Madame Adrien Proust, née Weil, is shown dressed in black against a dark background, in a style that critics have linked to the combined influence of Carolus-Duran and Velázquez. It is the only known pictorial representation of the writer's mother, and its rarity only heightens its documentary and artistic value.

In preparation for its loan to the centenary exhibitions, the painting underwent a restoration carried out by Colombe Durel, thanks to the invaluable assistance of the Musée Carnavalet – Histoire de Paris. It was subsequently exhibited at the Musée Carnavalet – Histoire de Paris and at the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire du judaïsme during the major commemorative events of 2022.

Authors and Contributors

Jérôme Bastianelli, president of the Société des Amis de Marcel Proust et des Amis de Combray, writes the introduction. He retraces the history of the portrait — its genesis, its gift to the association, its place within the collections — and situates its loan within the context of the centenary exhibitions.

Évelyne Bloch-Dano, author and biographer, notably of Madame Proust (Grasset, 2004) and Une jeunesse de Marcel Proust (Stock, 2017), traces the life of Jeanne Clémence Weil: her childhood within a cultivated Jewish family in Paris, her marriage to Doctor Adrien Proust, and the central role she played in the intellectual and emotional development of her son Marcel.

Oriane Beaufils, curator, devotes her text to the portraitist Anaïs Beauvais (1832–1898), née Lejault, a native of the Nivernais. She traces the artist's career from her first works shown at the Salon in 1867 to her society portraits of the Belle Époque.

Éric Unger was responsible for the editing of the brochure.

Contents

• Introduction
• Jeanne Proust, née Weil, by Évelyne Bloch-Dano
• Anaïs Beauvais, by Oriane Beaufils

Bibliographic Information

• Format: paperback
• ISBN: 978-2-492318-12-2
• Price: 5 €
• Publisher: Société des Amis de Marcel Proust et des Amis de Combray
• Legal deposit: December 2021