Bacchus as a child, a singular story

Painter Julie Duvidal de Montferrier's "Bacchus enfant" has had an eventful history! It met with great success at the Salon of 1822, and was acquired by the Duc d'Orléans, future King Louis-Philippe and supporter of the young Romantics. The work was one of the few to escape the flames of the Palais-Royal fire in February 1848, when Louis-Philippe was overthrown. The painting was included in the sale after the monarch's death, in 1851, where it was bought by Julie, before passing into the collection of Orléan artist François Marcille.

 

Traces of the painting were lost after Marcille's death, until the "Bacchus enfant" reappeared in a famous Parisian gallery! 218 donors, including six companies and seven associations, joined forces with the Friends of Musées d'Orléans to bring this committed woman's masterpiece into the collections of the Musée des Beaux-Arts, thanks to a participatory sponsorship program. Thank you again!