Marianne Loir

ca. 1715 to active until 1769

Loir’s family provided her with an impressive artistic pedigree. The Loirs had been active Parisian silversmiths since the 17th century; moreover, her brother was a highly regarded pastellist and sculptor, also specializing in portraiture.

Little is known about Loir’s life. She was trained by a distinguished French academic painter, Jean-François de Troy, and may have spent some time in Rome. That sojourn seems especially likely between the mid-1730s and 1740s, when there is no record of any artistic activity by her in Paris and when her teacher served as director of the Académie de France in Rome.

Scholars believe that Loir may also have lived for a time in the south of France. This theory is based on records of portraits she painted during the 1720s for patrons in Pau and her election to the Academy of Marseilles in 1762.

Artist Details

  • Name

    Marianne Loir

  • Birth

    Paris, ca. 1715

  • Death

    active until 1769

  • Phonetic Spelling

    mah-ree-ahn lwah(r)

  • NMWA Exhibitions

    Four Centuries of Women’s Art: The National Museum of Women in the Arts, 1990–91

Works by Marianne Loir

Presumed Portrait of Madame Geoffrin

Marie Thérèse Rodet Geoffrin (1699–1777) was famous in Parisian society for holding weekly salons where notable artists, writers, and politicians gathered.

She welcomed luminaries such as architect Jacques-Germain Soufflot and painter François Boucher to her Monday artistic salon. The guest lists for her Wednesday literary salons included accomplished men of the French Enlightenment, such as Voltaire, Diderot, and Montesquieu. The ease of...

View Artwork Details
A light-skinned, gray-haired woman appears from the waist up, sitting with arms crossed loosely in her lap. Her body turns to her left, but she faces the viewer offering a slight smile and making eye contact. Her white satin gown and fur- and pearl-trimmed red cape imply wealth.

Marianne Loir, Presumed Portrait of Madame Geoffrin, mid-18th century; Oil on canvas, 39 1/2 x 32 1/4 in.; National Museum of Women in the Arts, Gift of Wallace and Wilhelmina Holladay; Photo by Lee Stalsworth