Adèle romany, portrait of a lady at a pianoforte, circa 1808, museum of fine-arts, boston. This portrait of a young woman at a pianoforte is the pendant of joseph dominique fabry-garat's portrait by adèle romany. This portrait depicts a female student or companion of fabry-garat. The young lady stands before a pianoforte, idly fingering its keys; a music book sits on the instrument and she holds a musical manuscript at her side on which can clearly be read: 'recueil/de/romances/par/garat jeune'. Beneath this inscription, less legibly, is a dedication to 'son ami zuasnavar' and a further identification of the musical score as by 'auteur fabry garat'. The identity of the friend and dedicatee zuasnavar has not been determined, but one may presume that the sitter is fabry-garat's wife, companion or a fellow singer who regularly performed his songs. The inscription on the pianoforte reveals it was manufactured by sébastien érard, one of the preeminent piano makers of the 19th century. The present inscription corresponds to those on similar érard pianos made in the early 1790s: 'sébastién érard et fréré compag. Priviligiée du roi. Rue du mail no. 37 à paris', so it is possible that the instrument depicted here was made around that date. Although érard worked in both london and paris, the inscription on this pianoforte indicates it was made in the latter city at the firm érard frères & co. , which sébastien owned with his brother jean-baptiste. A similar pianoforte can be seen in romany's portrait of the artist's family in front of the château de juilly of 1804 at vassar college, poughkeepsie. Object Type: painting. Genre: portrait. Date: circa 1808. Dimensions: height: 129.5 cm (50.9 in) ; width: 94 cm (37 in). Medium: oil on canvas. Collection: Museum of Fine Arts Boston. Adele Romany - Portrait of a Lady at a Pianoforte
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