Miniature Portrait Of An Incroyable Or Muscadin End Of The 18th Century, C. 1794, Thermidor

Very fine miniature representing an "Incroyable" or "Muscadin", these young nobles and/or counter-revolutionaries, who in the aftermath of the fall of Robespierre and the Terror, adopted (with their cronies the "Merveilleuses") a fashion of dress and language affectations that were, to say the least, eccentric. Our young man is here wearing a short, tousled wig called "dog ears" (one of those that left the neck exposed - unlike the Ancien Régime ponytail - a possible nod to the guillotine, as were the neck ribbons worn - although historiography is hesitant on this subject - by the young women of the surviving nobility at the "Victims' Balls"), dressed in a rich, finely embroidered waistcoat, a lace tie with opulent pleats, and finally a frock coat (then fashionable, as it would be under the Convention) with a high collar and trilobed notched lapels (which is a rather unusual detail in the history of costume). We will note the beautiful finesse of execution, the meticulousness in the rendering of textures and skin tone, finally the strictly psychological portrait of this character whose discreet grin translates all the lightness felt at the time by this golden youth who, at the dawn of the Thermidorian reaction which inaugurates a bourgeois and conservative republic, gets drunk on parties and amusements. This small painting was made between 1794 and 1800, if we must give a more precise dating. We were unable to determine the support, not having unframed the subject. The gouache technique, in any case, leaves little doubt. This piece is also nicely framed in a twisted gold medallion.
Overall height 75 mm/At sight 52 mm
Width 5 mm
Overall length 60 mm/At sight 40 mm
Weight 36 gr