Regency Portraits Catalogue
Marie Tussaud (1761-1850), Modeller in wax
- Gallery portraits
- All known portraits
- Biography and References
1778
Drawing known from a lithograph in Francis Hervé, Madame Tussaud's Memoirs and Reminiscences of France, 1838, half-length aged 18 with roses in hat and bosom, reproduced Anita Leslie & Pauline Chapman, Madame Tussaud Waxworker Extraordinary, 1978, p 40.
c.1803
An oil attributed to Raeburn and believed to be of Madame Tussaud by the owner was offered to the NPG in about 1900 and rejected.
c.1835
Silhouette by Alfred Hervé shows Madame Tussaud whole-length in bonnet and voluminous dress holding out a letter (Sue McKechnie, British Silhouette Artists and their Work 1760-1860, 1978, p 231 and plate 446). It was incorporated in a family group silhouette by Joseph Tussaud, no doubt taken by his 'machine which takes profile likenesses' and showing Madame with her two daughters-in-law (Betsy playing harp), two grandchildren and her son Francis (Sue McKechnie, British Silhouette Artists and their Work 1760-1860, 1978, pp 444-6, plate 939 and Anita Leslie & Pauline Chapman, Madame Tussaud Waxworker Extraordinary, 1978, p 152). A watercolour miniature of Betsy by C. S. Hervé was exhibited SBA 1835 (50).
1838
Portrait known from a lithograph in Francis Hervé, Madame Tussaud's Memoirs and Reminiscences of France, 1838, half-length aged 78 in frilled hat, collar and spectacles.
1842
Wax self-portrait in Madame Tussaud's Waxwork Exhibition, whole-length in black dress, bonnet and steel-rimmed spectacles. Anita Leslie & Pauline Chapman, Madame Tussaud Waxworker Extraordinary, 1978 (p 166) say that 'she was eighty-one when she modelled her last self-portrait', suggesting that earlier ones exist but there is no mention of another self-portrait in the Madame Tussaud Archive. The likeness between this and the chalk drawing NPG 2031 is striking enough to suggest some connection though no further evidence can be found.
This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: Richard Walker, Regency Portraits, National Portrait Gallery, 1985, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.
Drawing known from a lithograph in Francis Hervé, Madame Tussaud's Memoirs and Reminiscences of France, 1838, half-length aged 18 with roses in hat and bosom, reproduced Anita Leslie & Pauline Chapman, Madame Tussaud Waxworker Extraordinary, 1978, p 40.
c.1803
An oil attributed to Raeburn and believed to be of Madame Tussaud by the owner was offered to the NPG in about 1900 and rejected.
c.1835
Silhouette by Alfred Hervé shows Madame Tussaud whole-length in bonnet and voluminous dress holding out a letter (Sue McKechnie, British Silhouette Artists and their Work 1760-1860, 1978, p 231 and plate 446). It was incorporated in a family group silhouette by Joseph Tussaud, no doubt taken by his 'machine which takes profile likenesses' and showing Madame with her two daughters-in-law (Betsy playing harp), two grandchildren and her son Francis (Sue McKechnie, British Silhouette Artists and their Work 1760-1860, 1978, pp 444-6, plate 939 and Anita Leslie & Pauline Chapman, Madame Tussaud Waxworker Extraordinary, 1978, p 152). A watercolour miniature of Betsy by C. S. Hervé was exhibited SBA 1835 (50).
1838
Portrait known from a lithograph in Francis Hervé, Madame Tussaud's Memoirs and Reminiscences of France, 1838, half-length aged 78 in frilled hat, collar and spectacles.
1842
Wax self-portrait in Madame Tussaud's Waxwork Exhibition, whole-length in black dress, bonnet and steel-rimmed spectacles. Anita Leslie & Pauline Chapman, Madame Tussaud Waxworker Extraordinary, 1978 (p 166) say that 'she was eighty-one when she modelled her last self-portrait', suggesting that earlier ones exist but there is no mention of another self-portrait in the Madame Tussaud Archive. The likeness between this and the chalk drawing NPG 2031 is striking enough to suggest some connection though no further evidence can be found.
This extended catalogue entry is from the out-of-print National Portrait Gallery collection catalogue: Richard Walker, Regency Portraits, National Portrait Gallery, 1985, and is as published then. For the most up-to-date details on individual Collection works, we recommend reading the information provided in the Search the Collection results on this website in parallel with this text.