Hortense HAUDEBOURT-LESCOT, née Viel (Paris, 1785 - 1845) An evening at the Haudebourt's Canvas Old inscription at the bottom of the frame, from left to right: "granet / mme Hautebourt (sic.) / Hautebourt (sic.) / Dusommerard (sic.) / Droling (sic.) " 13.8 x 17 cm Born Hortense Lescot, who became Haudebourt-Lescot through her marriage, the author of this portrait is the only woman to appear in the painting by François-Joseph Heim representing Charles X distributing awards to artists after the 1824 Salon. Faithful to this event, she exhibited more than a hundred works between 1810 and 1840. Trained in Paris and then in Rome by Guillaume Guillon known as Lethière, she liked to represent scenes of Italian popular life before being adopted as a portraitist by Parisian society. She was the official painter of the Duchess of Berry, and under Louis-Philippe she received commissions for Versailles. "Madame Haudebourt added to the influence of the artist the influence of the woman of the world. Her salon was as famous as her studio. This salon, where all the artistic, literary and aristocratic reputations met, where we saw Talma meet Scribe and Rossini, Horace Vernet, Granet, Picot, Drolling, David d'Angers fraternize with all the noblest and most brilliant people of the court and the city, was an elite meeting place where people aspired to be admitted." (F. d'O., Madame Haudebourt-Lescot, L'Illustration, IV, 99, Paris, 18 January 1845, p.520). Our painting seems to illustrate the words of this contemporary. We find Granet, Drolling whom she met in Rome, but also the collector du Sommerard.