Jean-baptiste Poncet (1827-1901) Lyon Vienne Flandrin The Actor Jean Sully-mounet

Jean-Baptiste PONCET (Saint-Laurent-de-Mure, 1827-Lyon, 1901) Portrait of the actor Jean Sully-Mounet, known as Mounet-Sully, in the role of Orestes. Oil on canvas, bearing the studio stamp in the lower right corner. Annotated 'Mounet-Sully, Dramatist / H. Flandrin' in ink on the reverse. Dimensions of the work: 35 cm x 27 cm. Provenance: Posthumous sale of the artist's work, Lyon, March 25-April 2, 1901, his stamp (L.3393) in the lower right corner. This painting represents an early version of the Portrait of Mounet-Sully by Jean-Baptiste Poncet, now in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Vienne (Isère). The authorship of this work is further attested by a preparatory drawing of comparable dimensions, held in a private collection. A passionate theatergoer, Jean-Baptiste Poncet was a regular at the Odéon between 1868 and 1872 and must have met Mounet-Sully during this period. The latter played the role of Orestes in Racine's Andromaque starting in July 1872. Numerous performances by the actor, who enjoyed considerable success at the time, are known to us. The painting of Jean-Baptiste Poncet is one of the earliest portraits of the actor.