19th Century French School, Portrait Of A Young Man In Profile, Oval Drawing

Early 19th century French School, 
Portrait of a young man in profile
charcoal on cut paper applied to pink tinted paper
Oval 58 x 47 cm (overall size)  the portrait itself 41.5 x 28 cm approximately
in good condition but the back of the head and of the collar seem to be later, probably the object of a restoration 
Framed under glass : 70 x 59 cm

On the back of the frame, which has since been replaced, there was a label. It bore the name of the model and had been scratched off by descendants who did not want anyone to know that they were selling the portrait of their ancestor, but more importantly, it indicated the model's dates of birth and death, which allows us to date the portrait. Born in 1778, he must have been between 20 and 30 years old when the portrait was painted, which places us at the very beginning of the 19th century.

The technique, a paper cut-out applied to a background, is quite original but has a charming effect.