Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger, 1772. This portrait reinterprets a pastel by Maurice-Quentin de La Tour (1704-1788) of the important French sculptor Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger (1704-1778). The sculptor, seen toward the end of his life, appears in working garb. His close-cropped grey hair, frank, observant stare, and bemused smile all demonstrate the closeness of the young painter to the elder sculptor. The work also speaks to Vigée-LeBrun’s interest in naturalistic portraiture (as opposed to her more formal, commissioned portraits), and in the handling of the
Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger, 1772. This portrait reinterprets a pastel by Maurice-Quentin de La Tour (1704-1788) of the important French sculptor Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger (1704-1778). The sculptor, seen toward the end of his life, appears in working garb. His close-cropped grey hair, frank, observant stare, and bemused smile all demonstrate the closeness of the young painter to the elder sculptor. The work also speaks to Vigée-LeBrun’s interest in naturalistic portraiture (as opposed to her more formal, commissioned portraits), and in the handling of the paint as well as her source image, her debt to pastel painting, her original medium. A recent conservation treatment and a new frame more appropriate for a work of the 1770s reveal the painting to be a crucial early work by the artist as she made the transition from pastel to oil paint.
Size: 5692px × 6749px
Photo credit: © Heritage Art/Heritage Images / Alamy / Afripics
License: Licensed
Model Released: No
Keywords: 1755-1842, 18th, art, canvas, century, cleveland, elisabeth, france, french, heritage, louise, museum, oil, painting, vigé-lebrun
