Portrait Of A Young Boy, Physionotrace, Circa 1800

Portrait of a boy of about ten years old, seen in profile, pencil and watercolor on paper, circa 1800.
On the back is this inscription: François Alain Dalbane or The Virtuous Schoolboy. 
Very good condition.
Dimensions with frame: 44x32 cm

This type of portrait with very precise outlines is called a physionotrace.
The physionotrace technique was fairly simple.  A traveling artist, who went from village to village and from town to town—when not receiving clients in his own studio—would place the model in front of a light source, which could be as simple as a candle. The model’s shadow was projected onto a sheet of paper stretched over a frame. All the painter had to do was draw the model’s precise outlines and fill in the face and clothing.
This type of portrait allowed clients from the lower middle class and even the working class to have their portrait made for a relatively modest sum.