Césarine Davin-Mirvault

Césarine Henriette Flore Davin-Mirvault (June 3, 1773 – November 25, 1844) was a French artist and painter.

Césarine Henriette Flore Davin-Mirvault was born in Paris and while her family was not part of the aristocracy it was well connected due to the fact that her godfather was a count and her godmother a marquise.

Davin-Mirvault was married to an “inspecteur å Parme” and had two daughters, however, her husband died in 1824, two years after her last exhibition.

These works include a scene of Hercules titled A Child Preferring Arms to All Other Articles of His Education.

A critic praised this work in La Mercure de France, however, he mistakenly thought the artist was a man.

A Young Girl Grieved by the End of “Clarissa” When She Reads the Will is an example of one of Davin-Mirvault’s genre miniatures and was exhibited in the Salon of 1801.

At this time, Davin-Mirvault stopped exhibiting miniatures most likely as a result of her studies with David giving her a newfound confidence.

His face, neckcloth, and the upholstery tacks provide bright accents to the darkly painted picture.

However, the portrait was finally correctly attributed to Davin-Mirvault a decade later by Georges Wildenstein who had always suspected it was in fact painted by one of David’s pupils.

The portrait does look heavily influenced by David due to Da¬vin-Mirvault’s skill at emulating her teacher’s style, especially his precision.

Both the Portrait of Asker-Khan and Lefebvre demonstrate how Davin-Mirvault was accustomed to painting miniatures and was not always as successful at a large scale.