Object Image

Marthe Legrix de la Salle, née Agard

Assuming that the inscription on the back of this pastel is correct, this is Marthe Legrix de La Salle (1716-1777), daughter of a successful draper in Bordeaux. She married Jacques IV Le Grix (or Legrix) de La Salle in Bordeaux in 1733. According to the memoirs of her son Jacques, Marthe had a kind, if somewhat weak character, with a taste for pleasure, gaming and finery.

She looks directly at us, her eyes the same sky blue as her cloak, which is edged in soft white down. Her powdered grey hair complements this colour palette reminiscent of a cloudy afternoon.

The portrait is neither signed nor dated, but was probably made in Bordeaux. Perronneau may have made it during his first visit to the...

probably 1756-8, the hair modified c. 1768-9
Pastel on blue paper
61.0 x 48.9cm
NG4063
Image and text © The National Gallery, London, 2024

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