Miniature By François Dumont, Portrait Of Mr. Marion De Tiville.

Portrait of Mr. Marion de Tiville, bust-length, three-quarters facing left, miniature on ivory. Oval, visible area 3.3 cm x 2.7 cm. With its rare original receipt signed and dated by Dumont on December 7, 1787: "I received from Mr. Marion de Tiville, Deputy of Commerce for Paris, the sum of ten louis, for the miniature portrait I made for him, receipt given. In Paris, this 8th, 1787, signed Dumont." Wooden frame. Overall height 31 cm x 26 cm. Louis-Joseph-Marie-Marion de Tiville (circa 1760-after 1835), magistrate, succeeded his father as Deputy of Commerce for Paris and Saint-Malo. A councilor at the Châtelet in Paris until 1787, he married Marguerite-Carillon around 1790. Their daughter, Adélaïde-Genevièvre, married Léon Curmer (1801-1870), a renowned publisher. One of their three granddaughters, Marie-Hortense Curmer, married Alphonse Périn, a history painter, son of the famous Louis Lié Perin (Reims 1753-1817). Having returned from a trip to Rome in 1786, François Dumont was at the height of his career. Three months after this portrait, he was accepted and then, in May 1788, admitted to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, becoming painter to Queen Marie Antoinette. He charged 10 Louis for this bust portrait, a rate most frequently recorded in his account book, begun in 1788, where prices that year ranged from 7 to 45 livres. On the back, there is a label, "Félix Périn, architect." A second label reads "Gallery No. 3." The receipt shows creases and yellowing. The miniature displays the usual signs of color change in Dumont's pigments over time, particularly the bluish shadows. There is minor damage to the shoulder of the costume. A few pits on the glass, but nothing serious. Expert: Nathalie Lemoine-Bouchard.