A CARVED MARBLE BUST OF A LADY, POSSIBLY MME. DE FONDVILLE

Jean-Baptiste Defernex started his career as a modeller for the Vincennes-Sèvres porcelain manufactory but would eventually be best known for his vibrant portrait busts, especially of celebrated beauties of the day. Among these, his terracotta portraits of the comedienne Mme. Favart (Louvre, Paris) and Mme. de Fondville (Musée de Tessé, LeMans, illustrated in Gaborit and Champion, locs. cit., respectively) are perhaps the best known. The latter bust, although depicting the sitter facing in the opposite direction and with her hair swept up at the back, is extremely close in facial type to the present marble bust and may represent a slightly later depiction of the same sitter.