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Henriette Browne
Sophie de Bouteiller (June 16, 1829 – 1901), known by her pseudonym Henriette Browne, was a French Orientalist painter.
Renowned internationally during her lifetime for her unconventional approach to Orientalism, Henriette Browne specialized in genre scenes that represented the Near East in a less sensationalized, albeit still exotic, manner than her contemporaries. Her sex, social position, and influence from her mother were pivotal to her development as an artist.
Sophie de Bouteiller was born in Paris on June 16, 1829, to the Comte de Bouteiller and his wife. Her father was an amateur musician and her mother an accomplished singer. Browne attained a privileged position in society because of her father, who descended from an old Breton Family. Sophie's mother was widowed at a young age prior to becoming the Comtesse de Bouteiller, and for a time gave music lesson to support herself and her son from this previous marriage. For this reason, the Countess encouraged Sophie to pursue an education in the arts from a young age: in the event that she have the need to economically sustain herself. She insisted that Sophie study music and drawing, and she was homeschooled by the Countess and other tutors in their Paris home. In 1849, Sophie decided to pursue more serious study in drawing by becoming a pupil of Monsieur Emile Perrin, who later became the director of Theater-Francais. In 1851, Sophie entered Monsieur Charles Joshua Chaplin’s class for female artists. Here she had the opportunity to study from live models, gaining indispensable knowledge on the depiction of body proportions and movements.
Between 1851 and 1853, Sophie adopted the pseudonym Henriette Browne, the name of her maternal grandmother. In 1853, under her newly chosen pseudonym, Browne submitted her first work to the Paris Salon, where she exhibited regularly until 1878, the year before her husband's death. With this pseudonym, Browne sought to keep her professional and personal life separate. Furthermore, by distancing herself from her artistic career, Browne wished to preserve her social standing, as it was not deemed appropriate at the time for a lady to also be a professional artist.
Henriette Browne married Monsieur Henry Jules de Saux, a French diplomat and secretary of Count Walewski, in 1853. Browne accompanied her husband on the many trips that his job required, traveling extensively to places such as Italy, Holland and Constantinople. These voyages proved to be vital to her artistic formation, exposing Browne to new environments. The trip to Constantinople was of particular importance, as it was during this trip that she visited a Turkish harem, gaining firsthand experience on what this private space was truly like. It is believed that this experience contributed to the unique manner in which she would later portray the Orient in her paintings and engravings.
By 1879 Browne had largely given up exhibiting, and could look back upon a productive career as an internationally sought genre and Orientalist artist. She became an honorary member of London's Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours in 1894. Henriette Browne had a successful career as an artist and although many of her works are untraced, the surviving works in private collections testify to her popularity. Today, her paintings offer an intervention into the type of 19th century Orientalism that largely catered to and reaffirmed the status of the dominating male gaze. She died in 1901 in Paris.
Browne's early work consisted of portraiture, domestic genre scenes, and French religieuse. Her capacity for realism was evident at the beginning of her career. Browne was a naturalistic artist, who had a reputation for painting from observable fact. She became known for her boldness with which she depicted genre scenes. Their scale, realism, and frontal figure presentation were unusual characteristics for the time.
Browne first appeared at the Paris Salon of 1853. She exhibited Lecture de la Bible, a painting of an old woman reading a heavy Bible on her lap. She received moderate success and drew the attention of an art critic who was well known in both French and English art circles. After striking up a rapport with Browne, he was invited to her studio to view more of her work. The visitor was immediately able to discern that her Parisian studio was adorned with a level of taste and luxury that did not equate to the sale of her artworks, which at that time were selling for around 500 francs. After witnessing her skill, the collector decided to purchase the works he has previously discussed as well as the promise to purchase more works in the future. He then submitted these works and others to future Salons which accrued around 7,000 francs.
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Henriette Browne
Sophie de Bouteiller (June 16, 1829 – 1901), known by her pseudonym Henriette Browne, was a French Orientalist painter.
Renowned internationally during her lifetime for her unconventional approach to Orientalism, Henriette Browne specialized in genre scenes that represented the Near East in a less sensationalized, albeit still exotic, manner than her contemporaries. Her sex, social position, and influence from her mother were pivotal to her development as an artist.
Sophie de Bouteiller was born in Paris on June 16, 1829, to the Comte de Bouteiller and his wife. Her father was an amateur musician and her mother an accomplished singer. Browne attained a privileged position in society because of her father, who descended from an old Breton Family. Sophie's mother was widowed at a young age prior to becoming the Comtesse de Bouteiller, and for a time gave music lesson to support herself and her son from this previous marriage. For this reason, the Countess encouraged Sophie to pursue an education in the arts from a young age: in the event that she have the need to economically sustain herself. She insisted that Sophie study music and drawing, and she was homeschooled by the Countess and other tutors in their Paris home. In 1849, Sophie decided to pursue more serious study in drawing by becoming a pupil of Monsieur Emile Perrin, who later became the director of Theater-Francais. In 1851, Sophie entered Monsieur Charles Joshua Chaplin’s class for female artists. Here she had the opportunity to study from live models, gaining indispensable knowledge on the depiction of body proportions and movements.
Between 1851 and 1853, Sophie adopted the pseudonym Henriette Browne, the name of her maternal grandmother. In 1853, under her newly chosen pseudonym, Browne submitted her first work to the Paris Salon, where she exhibited regularly until 1878, the year before her husband's death. With this pseudonym, Browne sought to keep her professional and personal life separate. Furthermore, by distancing herself from her artistic career, Browne wished to preserve her social standing, as it was not deemed appropriate at the time for a lady to also be a professional artist.
Henriette Browne married Monsieur Henry Jules de Saux, a French diplomat and secretary of Count Walewski, in 1853. Browne accompanied her husband on the many trips that his job required, traveling extensively to places such as Italy, Holland and Constantinople. These voyages proved to be vital to her artistic formation, exposing Browne to new environments. The trip to Constantinople was of particular importance, as it was during this trip that she visited a Turkish harem, gaining firsthand experience on what this private space was truly like. It is believed that this experience contributed to the unique manner in which she would later portray the Orient in her paintings and engravings.
By 1879 Browne had largely given up exhibiting, and could look back upon a productive career as an internationally sought genre and Orientalist artist. She became an honorary member of London's Royal Institute of Painters in Watercolours in 1894. Henriette Browne had a successful career as an artist and although many of her works are untraced, the surviving works in private collections testify to her popularity. Today, her paintings offer an intervention into the type of 19th century Orientalism that largely catered to and reaffirmed the status of the dominating male gaze. She died in 1901 in Paris.
Browne's early work consisted of portraiture, domestic genre scenes, and French religieuse. Her capacity for realism was evident at the beginning of her career. Browne was a naturalistic artist, who had a reputation for painting from observable fact. She became known for her boldness with which she depicted genre scenes. Their scale, realism, and frontal figure presentation were unusual characteristics for the time.
Browne first appeared at the Paris Salon of 1853. She exhibited Lecture de la Bible, a painting of an old woman reading a heavy Bible on her lap. She received moderate success and drew the attention of an art critic who was well known in both French and English art circles. After striking up a rapport with Browne, he was invited to her studio to view more of her work. The visitor was immediately able to discern that her Parisian studio was adorned with a level of taste and luxury that did not equate to the sale of her artworks, which at that time were selling for around 500 francs. After witnessing her skill, the collector decided to purchase the works he has previously discussed as well as the promise to purchase more works in the future. He then submitted these works and others to future Salons which accrued around 7,000 francs.
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