Catherine Lusurier

1752–1781

Active in: France

Biography

Catherine Lusurier was born in Paris in 1752, the daughter of a dressmaker and a milliner. Her uncle, Hubert Drouais (1699–1767), was a portraitist and miniaturist and she apprenticed with him until his death in 1767. She likely worked alongside Drouais’ son, François-Hubert Drouais, (1727–1775) and grandson, Jean Germain Drouais (1763–1788). Twenty-one paintings have been attributed to her, an œuvre consisting primarily of portraits. She died in Paris in 1781 at the age of twenty-eight.

Selected Works

A portrait of a man seated at a desk, looking out directly at the viewer with a slight smile. He is finely dressed and sits in an nicely appointed eighteenth-century interior, with a globe on his desk as well as other gold ornaments. He holds a feathered quill and puts it to paper, as though he has just been caught in a moment of composition.

Catherine Lusurier, Portrait of Jean Le Rond d'Alembert, 1777. Oil on canvas, 100.2 x 81.2 cm. Musée Carnavalet

A bust-length portrait of a man wearing eighteenth-century clothing consisting of a blue overcoat, a red vest, and a white shirt with a bit of lace. He wears a white wig and looks out directly at the viewer with a slight smile. The background is neutral, with no other attributes or adornments.

Catherine Lusurier, Portrait of a Man previously identified as Jean Le Rond d’Alembert, 1770. Oil on canvas, 45 x 38 cm. Musée Carnavalet

An oval portrait of a young girl, wearing a pink gown with embellished sleeves fixed with blue ribbon. A pink ribbon holds back her curls, tied in a bow. She is shown at half-length, next to a basket of flowers. She holds a small spray of flowers in her left hand, up towards her face, and looks out directly at the viewer with a soft, neutral expression.

Catherine Lusurier, Portrait of Charlotte-Francoise DeBure, 1776. Oil on canvas, 74.93 x 60.96 cm. Milwaukee Art Museum

An oval portrait of a young man, who looks directly out at the viewer with a slight smile. He wears a striped overcoat with a large collar and large buttons, and a soft black hat. He is holding a stack of papers and boards tied at the top with a blue ribbon and a pen, which he fixes to the paper as he either writes or draws.

Catherine Lusurier, Portrait of Jean Germain Drouais, ca. 1778. Oil on canvas, 80 x 64 cm. Louvre Museum

A half-length portrait of a man, who wears eighteenth-century clothing consisting of a blue overcoat, a red vest, and a white shirt. His gray, curly hair falls loose to his shoulders. He looks out directly at the viewer with a slight smile. An inscription on the bottom edge of the portrait identifies the sitter.

Catherine Lusurier, François-Marie Arouet, dit Voltaire, 1778. Oil on canvas, 64 x 52 cm. Institute de France

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Selected works

Circle

Niece and student of
Hubert Drouais (1699–1767)

Cousin of
François-Hubert Drouais (1727–1775)

First cousin once removed of
Jean Germaine Drouais (1763–1788)

Bibliography

Ashmore, Helen. “Catherine Lusurier (1752–81): A Woman Painter in Eighteenth-Century Paris.” Apollo 153 (2011): 34–40.

Auricchio, Laura, et al. eds. Royalists to Romantics: Women Artists from the Louvre, Versailles, and Other French National Collections. Washington, DC: National Museum of Women in the Arts, 2012.

Checklist of painters c1200–1976 Represented in the Witt Library, Courtauld Institute of Art, London. London: Mansell, 1978.

Gabillot, C. “Les trois Drouais (1er article).” Gazette des beaux-arts 3rd series, 34, no. 579 (1905): 190.

Kahng, Eik, and Marianne Roland Michel. Anne Vallayer-Coster: Painter to the Court of Marie-Antoinette. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2002.

Kayser, Christine, Xavier Salmon, and Laurent Hugues. L’Enfant chéri au siècle des lumières: Après l’Émile. Marly-le-Roi: Les éditions l’Inventaire, 2003.

Sainte-Beuve, M.-E. “Une portraitiste du XVIIIe siècle Catherine Lusurier.” Gazette des beaux-arts 15th series, 16, no. 779 (1927): 80–86.

Thieme, Ulrich and Felix Becker. Allgemeines Lexikon der bildenden Künstler: von der Antike bis zur Gegenwart. Leipzig: Seemann, 1907–50.