Joséphine Coffin-Chevallier met John Bowes in 1847 in Paris. Together, they were to found the Bowes Museum, and this painting, even though made well before the museum took shape, shows the young woman with all the appearance of a benefactress. This portrait shows her at the age of 25, in her Paris home, with her dog Bernardine. She leans on a fashionable Boulle table, and a Boulle bookcase can be seen in the background. On the table rest the text of several plays in which Joséphine appeared when an actress at the Théâtre des Variétés on the Boulevard Montmartre in Paris, under the stage name Mademoiselle Delorme. John Bowes was the owner of this theatre, which he had purchased in 1847. Joséphine became John’s mistress and they were married in 1852.She became Countess Montalbo in 1868; the coat of arms with the countess’s coronet is therefore a later addition.

Provenance: Presented by Miss Edelston, 1954

Object description
Type: Easel painting
Location: Bowes Museum, Barnard Castle, County Durham
Material: Oil on canvas
Artist: Jules de Vignon (1815-1895), after Franz Winterhalter (1805-1873)
Date: 1867

Image Details
Date: 7 Feb 2025
Camera body: iPhone Xs
Lens: Wide Camera 26mm ƒ/1.8
Focal Length: 26mm
Aperture: ƒ/1.8
Shutter Speed: 1/25s
ISO: 500
Licensing: Image of a Bowes Museum asset. This image cannot be licensed.