2825

Baronne Marcel Baeyens, née Suzanne Desmons 1911

Standing almost full-length, and slightly to the right, her head turned and looking full face to the viewer, wearing an evening gown, and a bandeau in her hair

Oil on canvas, 180 x 110 cm (70 ¾ x 39 ¾ in.)

Inscribed lower right: P.A de László / London 1911. XII 

Sitters' Book I, f. 88: Desmons Baeyens Londres 6 Déc. 1911

Private Collection

In May 1911, Gaston Calmette, Director of Le Figaro, wrote to de László to ask him whether he would paint Baroness Baeyens, explaining how this portrait could further his career in France: “I can guarantee you a great success for this portrait as for all your works, as Baroness Baeyens and her husband have an important situation [sic] in Paris, which will add to the attraction of a masterpiece.”^[1] In winter that year, de László painted the present portrait in London. It was exhibited at the schismatic Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts in Paris in 1912, where de László participated from 1912 to 1914, although he usually exhibited at the Salon des Artistes Français. His painting was a success, which greatly contributed to his election as an associate of the Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts. The artist’s correspondence suggests that Gaston Calmette and Baroness Baeyens also played a part in this, Calmette being extremely influential in France.^[2] In 1912, de László painted a study-portrait of the Baroness for him [111088], at her request it seems.^[3]

De László apparently much enjoyed this formal commission and is reputed to have said that he could “never finish painting her.”^[4] Williams wrote that the “charm” of the portrait “lies in the subtle refinement and harmony of its colour-sheme. The tall white figure is boldly silhouetted against a plain dark background. But the introduction of the soft scarf of Nattier^[5] blue, the ribbon twisted into the coils of the chestnut hair, and the handful of soft pink roses in the girdle of the gown tempers the severity of a black and white effect. László’s predilection for a peculiarly soft tone of Nattier blue – in this portrait his sitter’s brilliant blue eyes no doubt prompted his choice – against a dark background is one of his happiest effects, for it always introduces a note of suavity and repose that delights the eye.”^[6] He also made a fine head-and-shoulders study-portrait of the sitter the same year. A slight preparatory sketch for the present portrait remained in the artist’s studio on his death and was later destroyed by the executors, in accordance with his wishes not to preserve works unworthy of his reputation.^[7] 

Suzanne Desmons’ family came from Moissac in Southwestern France, but she was born in Paris in 1884, her parents being established at 25 Quai d’Orsay. This explains why Williams described her as “a true child of Paris,” “by birth, beauty, and verve.” Her father owned the Larose Trintaudon vineyard in the Bordeaux region, which he sold after his only son André was killed at the battle of the Marne in 1914. In 1903, Suzanne Desmons married Baron Marcel Baeyens (1870-1954), a Belgian financier from Ixelles.^[8] The son of Baron Ferdinand Baeyens (1843-1928), Director of the Société Générale de Belgique, and his wife Rose Quenon, he was awarded the Légion d’honneur in 1910. Although they never divorced, Baron and Baroness Marcel Baeyens separated shortly after the birth of their son in 1905.

Known as a great beauty, Baroness Baeyens was not only an elegant and intelligent society figure in Paris: she also spent a great deal of her time riding to hounds in Normandy. She gained considerable expertise in 18th century furniture and engravings, and towards the end of her life dabbled successfully in the Paris stock market, which was quite rare for a Frenchwoman at the time. She died in 1949.

Original frame by Buck

EXHIBITED:

•Salon de la Société Nationale des Beaux-Arts, Paris, Deuxième exposition de la société nationale des Beaux-Arts, 1912, no. 787

•The French Gallery, London, A Series of Portraits and Studies By Philip A. de László, M.V.O., June 1923, no. 46

•Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Paris, Christian Dior, Couturier du Rêve, 5 July 2017 - 7 January 2018  

LITERATURE:          

•The Art Chronicle, 31 May 1912, p. 319, ill.

•Mayfair, 18 July 1912, p. 865, ill.

•Velhagen & Klasings Monatshefte, vol. XXVII, no. 1, September 1912, ill.

•Schleinitz, Otto (von), Künstler Monographien, no. 106, Ph A. von László, Bielefeld and Leipzig (Velhagen & Klasing), 1913, ill. pl. 96

•The Studio Magazine, vol. LIX, no. 246, September 1913, ill. p. 304

•Williams, Oakley (ed.), Selections from the Work of P.A. de László, Hutchinson, London, 1921, p. 173

•Wright, Helen, “Philip A. de László,” Art and Archaeology: The Arts Through the Ages, Vol. XII, No. 6 (December, 1921), p. 241

•Grange, Paulin, “Les Portraits de Philippe A. de László,” La Revue de L’Art Ancien et Moderne, XLII (July/Aug 1922), p. 138

•Clifford, Derek, The Paintings of P. A. de Laszlo, London, 1969, ill. pl. 29

•Hart-Davis, Duff, in collaboration with Caroline Corbeau-Parsons, De László: His Life and Art, Yale University Press, 2010, p. 134

•Field, Katherine ed., Transcribed by Susan de Laszlo, The Diaries of Lucy de László Volume I: (1890-1913), de Laszlo Archive Trust, 2019, p. 198, ill. p. 199

•DLA005-0017, letter from Gaston Calmette to de László, 20 May 1911

•DLA162-0342, Pesti Hírlap, 21 April 1912, p. 24

CC 2008