9564

Comtesse de Rochefort, née Régine Roederer 1923

Half-length to the left in profile, her head turned slightly to the viewer, in three-quarter face, her shoulders bare, with a green stole around her back and arms over a cream silk chemise, wearing emerald drop earrings and an emerald ring on the third finger of her right hand

Oil on canvas, 77 x 62 cm (30 ⅜ x 24 ⅜ in.)

Indistinctly inscribed: de László / Paris 1923 XII [on a scrap of canvas attached to the back since the cutting down of the portrait]

Sitters’ Book II, opp. f. 38: Roederer. Moulins de Rochefort / 3 dec. 1923-

Private Collection

A letter from Comtesse Pierre-Louis de Roederer, the sitter’s mother, suggests that she commissioned the present portrait, and that it was intended to hang in her home in Paris. In the same letter, she praises the painting, and tells de László how much it was appreciated there: “I am so glad to tell you that your painting of her is very much admired and has the greatest success: you shall certainly hear of it when you come over.^[1] People admire the likeness, and find it very lively, very original with, at the same time, very skilled brushwork, and an exquisite general tone: all qualities which admirably heighten the allure of my little girl. I have not placed it as you wanted, because it was sacrificed: I have put it, instead, near a window; and I hope you will like this arrangement.”^[2]

This shows how aware de László was of the importance of finding the place where his portraits would be best displayed, even though in this instance the owner had different views. The present portrait was originally full-length, but was cut down to the present size by a previous owner. De László painted a study portrait of the sitter’s mother in Paris in 1930, which remains in a different private collection [6861].

Régine Louise Armande Marie Roederer was born 7 July 1893 in Paris. On 1st February 1913, she married Comte Gérard Moulins de Rochefort in Paris. The couple remained childless but on the death of Régine’s first cousin’s wife, they adopted their son, John Steven Roederer, who later became a Captain in the United States Marine Corps but was killed in Vietnam on 3 July 1967. The comtesse inherited and ran Haras du Bois-Roussel, the renowned thoroughbred stud farm in Normandy. This was sold after her husband’s death. The comtesse was very well read, active in society and in the horseracing world. She also supported many charities and particularly enjoyed crossword puzzles. She died in Paris on 12 October 1988.  

EXHIBITION:

•Hotel Jean Charpentier, Paris, Exposition P. A. de László, June 1931, no. 74

LITERATURE:  

•DLA082-0072, letter from Comtesse Pierre-Louis de Roederer to de László, 21 April 1923

•DLA015-0012, letter from Comtesse Pierre-Louis de Roederer to de László, 14 December 1923

•DLA015-0031, letter from Comtesse Pierre-Louis de Roederer to de László, 7 February 1924

CC 2011