Portrait Of A Man Of Quality In A Frock Coat, Directoire Period, Empire, 19th-19th Century

Academic Portrait of a Man of Quality in a Frock Coat, formerly attributed to Louis Augustin BELLE (1757-1841), circa 1810 Portrait to be compared with the artistic production of the painter Louis-Leopold Boilly and his son, Julien. The portrait is truncated at mid-body, animated by a slight rotation of the bust and a three-quarter-face tilt of the head. The light emphasizes the facial features, which stand out against a neutral gray background. The man is wearing a Titus-style hairstyle, which was in vogue between the French Revolution and the First Empire. This hairstyle had the advantage of covering the forehead with a set of floating curls that framed the face. This anonymous portrait can be compared with an engraving based on the work of Julien-Leopold Boilly, which immortalizes the portrait of academician Joseph-Francois Michaud. Similarities can be seen in the posture, the expressiveness of the portrait and the detachment of the figure from a neutral background. Provenance: former collection of the painter Pierre Eugène Jules Maison (1814-1879) Condition: old lining, portrait restored in the workshop Possibility of attaching an Empire period frame with palmettes to the dimensions of the painting (information on request).