Large Fixed Under Glass By Vincent De Montpetit (1713-1800), Portrait Of Man

Man wearing the medal of the order of Saint-Louis Signed and dated lower left "V De Montpetit 1783" Oil on canvas fixed under glass Height: 70 cm - Width: 60 cm End of the 18th century, Louis XVI period Provenance: Private collection Paris Vincent de Monpetit is the inventor of this technique of eludoric painting or fixed under glass. Arnauld Vincent was born in Mâcon on December 13, 1713. He adopted the pseudonym of Montpetit around 1760 after his installation in Paris. Extremely curious and inventive, he was at the same time painter, "mechanic" and writer; he was particularly passionate about watchmaking - he also founded a manufacture of timepieces in Bourg-en-Bresse - and for the construction of metal bridges. After reversals of fortune, in 1763, he devoted himself mainly to painting, living mainly from the activity of restorer of paintings. Inventor of the eludoric painting, of the Greek Elaïon (oil) and Hudor (water), and of the fixed under glass, processes intended to answer the problems posed by the degradation of the tables, he presented his discoveries to the Royal Academy of Sciences in 1775 where they were approved. Vincent enjoyed the favor of the king and the court during his lifetime and he commissioned numerous portraits and miniatures. His works are rare, especially his glass sets. Below, the most famous painting by Vincent de Montpetit: the portrait of Louis XV kept at the Palace of Versailles and executed in the same technique of fixed coaster.