Bout-oil On Canvas-signed-emile Lassale-portrait Of Moïse Polydore Millaud-1867

Émile Lassalle (Bordeaux, 1811 – Paris, 1871) Portrait of Moïse Polydore Millaud Original oil on canvas, signed top right 148 cm x 115 cm Presented at the Paris Salon, 1867 (no. 876) Provenance: Former collections of the newspaper La Petite Gironde, now Sud-Ouest Bibliography: Reproduced in the Wikipedia article on Moïse Millaud Condition: Very good general condition; original canvas, no major damage visible A student of Pierre II Lacour from Bordeaux, Emile Lassalle was a painter and, above all, a lithographer. Exhibiting regularly at the Salon from 1834 to 1869, he presented portraits and numerous interpretive engravings based on the paintings of the most famous artists of the time (Delacroix, Ingres, Winterhalter, Delaroche, etc.). He also illustrated books. A multiple medal winner at the Salon, he was awarded the Legion of Honour in 1861. This imposing canvas, signed by Émile Lassalle, a figure of official portraiture under the Second Empire, represents Moïse Polydore Millaud (1813–1871), banker, press proprietor and founder of the famous Petit Journal. Commissioned from a Bordeaux artist also active in the publishing world, this portrait combines the codes of bourgeois realism and the portrait of 19th-century notables. Millaud is depicted standing in his office, in a confident pose, holding the Petit Journal – a symbol of his entrepreneurial genius and his media influence. The richly composed background reveals a gallery of classical sculptures, a nod to his interest in the arts and his membership of the cultured elite. A red-bound volume placed within easy reach reinforces the image of a learned and powerful man. The modeled light, the precision of the textures (hair, paper, fabrics) and the balance of the composition testify to the expertise of Émile Lassalle, a multiple medal winner at the Salon and decorated with the Legion of Honor. This work, presented at the official Salon of 1867, is not only a ceremonial portrait, but also a major historical visual document on one of the pioneers of the modern press. The estimate takes into account the pictorial quality of the work, its presentation at the prestigious Salon of 1867, its provenance from a major regional press title, as well as the renewed interest of the market in the great figures of 19th-century cultural capitalism. Sold with its certificate of authenticity