Seated Man Holding a Snuff Box

Louis Aubert (c. 1720-1780) was a French artist known for the precisely observed, characterfully composed drawings and paintings that make him one of the accomplished artists of the 18th-century French tradition. Seated Man Holding a Snuff Box from c. 1750-60 depicts a seated man holding a snuff box in the precisely observed, characterfully composed manner that distinguishes Aubert's best work. Snuff boxes were one of the most important social accessories of the 18th century, and Aubert's precisely observed, characterfully composed treatment of a man holding a snuff box shows the French drawing tradition at its most accomplished during the ancien regime.

Seated Man Holding a Snuff Box is important in the history of French drawing because it demonstrates the precisely observed, characterfully composed manner that Aubert brought to figure drawing as one of the accomplished artists of the 18th-century French tradition. The snuff box—one of the most important social accessories of the 18th century—was a symbol of social status and refinement, and the c. 1750-60 drawing shows the French figure drawing tradition at its most precisely observed.

Seated Man Holding a Snuff Box is Aubert's precisely observed French drawing: a seated man holding a snuff box rendered in the characterfully composed manner of one of the accomplished artists of the 18th-century French tradition. The c. 1750-60 drawing shows the social accessories of the ancien regime at their most precisely observed.