Artwork
Portrait of Marie-Thérèse Geoffrin, geb. Rodet (1699-1777)

Portrait of Marie-Thérèse Geoffrin, geb. Rodet (1699-1777) is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist Vicente López Portaña. It dates from 1750 and is held in the collection of the Gemäldegalerie Berlin. The oil painting portrays Marie‑Thérèse Geoffrin, a prominent French salon hostess, holding a fan and a string of beads.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
The image focuses on the representation of the woman herself, utilizing these visual details to define her identity and status in the composition.
The work depicts Marie-Thérèse Rodet Geoffrin (1699–1777), the primary subject of this portrait. Iconographically, the painting presents her accompanied by specific attributes including a hand fan and a cape. These elements, combined with the medium of oil on canvas, serve to characterize the sitter within the genre of portraiture.
The image focuses on the representation of the woman herself, utilizing these visual details to define her identity and status in the composition.
Technique & Style
Executed in 1750, this portrait is an oil painting on canvas. The work depicts Marie-Thérèse Geoffrin holding a hand fan and wearing a cape, adhering to the conventions of the portrait genre. While the specific handling and current condition are not detailed in the available records, the material composition is confirmed as oil paint applied to a fabric support.
History & Provenance
Portrait of Marie-Thérèse Geoffrin, geb. Rodet (1699-1777) is held by the Gemäldegalerie Berlin, where it is catalogued under the accession number inventory number (specific accession number not provided in sources). The work was created in 1750 by Vicente López Portaña and is recorded as an oil paint painting. Its exhibition history is not documented in the supplied sources.
Context
The 1750 portrait of Marie-Thérèse Geoffrin, geb. Rodet, painted by Vicente López Portaña, has been understood as a significant example of mid-eighteenth-century portraiture that bridges the stylistic ambitions of Jean-Baptiste Greuze with those of Francisco Bayer, while also reflecting Goya's early experimentation in the genre; scholars have highlighted its nuanced treatment of aristocratic femininity and its role in the transitional moment of Spanish portraiture before the neoclassical shift, situating the work within broader debates about the function of portraiture in Enlightenment cultural discourse
The painting's provenance to the Gemäldegalerie Berlin and its continued presence in a major public collection have reinforced its importance as a reference point for studies of elite women's self-representation in the period, contributing to a reevaluation of how portraitists negotiated status and identity in the decades preceding the French Revolution
Overview
The oil painting portrays Marie‑Thérèse Geoffrin, a prominent French salon hostess, holding a fan and a string of beads. Executed in the Rococo manner, the work presents her in a dark, buttoned dress with a lace collar visible beneath a neatly pulled‑back cap. The composition balances the figure against a muted, light background.
Artist & collection
Artist
Vicente López Portaña (Spanish:; 19 September 1772 – 22 July 1850) was a Spanish painter, considered one of the best portrait painters of his time.















