Lady Caroline Lamb (English, 1785-1828), Tout Brille ici bas

Lady Caroline Lamb (Anglo-Irish, 1785-1828) Tout Brille ici bas 1820 Watercolour on paper Titled lower centre, signed, and dated 'by Caroline Lamb 1820' lower left With J S Maas & Co gallery sticker verso    Lady Caroline Lamb, née Ponsonby, was an Anglo-Irish aristocrat and novelist. Famous for her Gothic novel Glenarvon, published in 1816, she is perhaps best remembered for her short, heated affair with the poet Lord Byron, who she famously described as “Mad, bad and dangerous to know”.   She was exceedingly well-educated and witty and moved in high society. A cousin of Georgiana, Duchess of Devonshire, she grew up partly with her Cavendish cousins.   In 1805, aged 19, she married William Lamb, a rising politician and heir to the 1st Viscount Melbourne. He later become Prime Minister, being known as Queen Victoria’s ‘Lord M’. In 1812 she embarked on her well-publicised affair with Lord Byron. Her refusal to accept the end of the affair, including a public event when, at a ball in honour of the Duke of Wellington, Byron publicly insulted Lady Caroline, who responded by breaking a wine glass and trying to slash her wrists. After the Battle of Waterloo in 1815 she was rumoured to have had a brief affair with the Duke of Wellington.   This charming sketch is a rare example of a watercolour by her. The French title translates to ‘Everything shines down here’. Provenance: Sotheby's, 26 September 1990, lot 355 Dimensions: (Frame) 13.75 in. (H) x 14.75 in. (W)  (Paper) 8 in. (H) x 9 in. (W)