Madame Crozat
by AVED, Jacques-André-Joseph, Oil on canvas
The remarkable portrait of Madame Crozat was shown at the Salon in 1741. In this portrait Aved conveys something of the sitter’s character - including a lack of vanity - and her ordinary existence. With her tapestry work and a teapot handy in the background, she might stand as representative of the highest bourgeoisie: sensible, comfortable, industrious. It was thought worth commenting on in 1741 that another woman would have suppressed the fact of those spectacles which Madame Crozat has just taken off and still holds; Aved seizes on this very detail to give a sense of momentary pause in a pleasantly busy domestic life.
In the nineteenth century the painting was supposed to be by Chardin.