Portrait Of A Man In His Library, Circa 1830

Portrait of a man in a bourgeois interior
Attributed to the school of Louis-Léopold Boilly (1761–1845)
France, first half of the 19th century
Oil on canvas, ebonized and gilded wooden frame
Canvas marked on the back “Belot Marchand de Couleurs – A Paris”
Old label: École de BOILLY – École française – “Portrait d’homme” on canvas
Dimensions (including frame): 54x43 cm
Very good condition. 

Portrait of a man in his forties sitting in a carved wooden armchair, wearing a black double-breasted suit, white tie, waistcoat and gold watch chain. The interior is elegant, probably an office or library, as evidenced by the books carefully arranged in a mahogany glass-fronted cabinet and the papers on the table covered with green velvet.
The model holds a half-open book in her left hand, emphasizing a literate, cultivated personality or one linked to literature or science. His direct and assured gaze, as well as his posture, express a certain social status and bourgeois confidence characteristic of portraits from the July Monarchy or the beginning of the Second Empire.
The attribution to the school of Louis-Léopold Boilly is based on the careful style of execution, the meticulous rendering of textiles and furniture, as well as the interest in indoor portraits, typical of this artist and his followers.
Boilly, active during the Revolution, the Empire and the Restoration, influenced several generations of French portraitists, notably through his ability to combine psychological likeness and a taste for the rendering of fabrics and decor. The entire composition is in this vein, between an intimate ceremonial portrait and a sociological study.
The original stretcher and the canvas marked “Belot, Rue de l'Arbre Sec – A Paris” confirm a Parisian production. This paint and art supplies dealer was active in the 1820s–1840s, which is perfectly in keeping with the painting's style and era.
This portrait could have been commissioned by a member of the cultured Parisian bourgeoisie: a lawyer, magistrate, scholar, or politician. Everything suggests a man of letters or influence.