Artist | Georges Clairin (France, 1843 - 1919)

Year | 1876

Medium

Oil on canvas

Dimensions

250 x 200 cm

Location

Petit Palais → Room 3

Portrait of Sarah Bernhardt

At the 1876 Salon, this large-scale portrait of the 32-year-old rising star Sarah Bernhardt captured the attention of Parisian critics. Painted by Georges Clairin, her lover and official portraitist for fifty years, the work depicts the bohemian splendour of her new mansion near Monceau Park. Wearing a white satin dress with a studied nonchalance, her sinuous figure and the painting's pearlescent tones heralded the Art Nouveau aesthetic. This portrayal, capturing a feminine presence that is both seductive and disquieting, was a personal favorite of Bernhardt, who kept it throughout her life. Following her death, her son Maurice Bernhardt donated the painting in 1923 to the Petit Palais, where it continues to keep the myth of the great actress alive.