Description
This signed portrait reinterprets a well-known pastel by Maurice-Quentin de La Tour 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.
Provenance
Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger (1704-1778), Paris, France, by inheritance to the Lemoyne Family (1774-1778); Lemoyne Family, by inheritance to Yves Le Moyne; Yves Le Moyne, sold through Hotel Drouot (-1912); Sale: Hotel Drouot, Paris, France, February 5, 1912, lot 76 (February 5, 1912); Paul J. Vignos, Jr. (1919-2010), Cleveland, OH, upon his death, held in trust by the estate. (-2010); Estate of Paul J. Vignos, Jr., by bequest to the Cleveland Museum of Art (2010-2011); The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (2011-)
Accession Number
2011.49
Medium
oil on canvas
Dimensions
Framed: 58.6 x 51.9 x 5.7 cm (23 1/16 x 20 7/16 x 2 1/4 in.); Unframed: 37.4 x 44.1 cm (14 3/4 x 17 3/8 in.)
Classification
Painting
Credit Line
Bequest of Dr. Paul J. Vignos Jr.
Tags
Painting Neoclassical & Romantic (1751–1850) Oil Painting Canvas French
Background & Context
Background Story
Elisabeth Louise Vigee-LeBrun (1755-1842) was a French painter known for the precisely observed, elegantly composed portraits that make her one of the most accomplished portrait painters of the 18th century. Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger from 1774 depicts the sculptor Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger in the precisely observed, elegantly composed manner that distinguishes Vigee-LeBrun's best portrait work. Vigee-LeBrun was one of the most successful women painters in history—serving as portrait painter to Marie Antoinette—and her precisely observed, elegantly composed portraits represent one of the most accomplished traditions in 18th-century French painting.
Cultural Impact
Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger is important in the history of French portrait painting because it demonstrates the precisely observed, elegantly composed manner that Vigee-LeBrun—one of the most successful women painters in history—brought to portraiture. Vigee-LeBrun's precisely observed, elegantly composed portraits—serving as portrait painter to Marie Antoinette—represent one of the most accomplished traditions in 18th-century French portrait painting, and the 1774 portrait shows this tradition at its most precisely observed.
Why It Matters
Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger is Vigee-LeBrun's precisely observed French portrait: the sculptor depicted in the elegantly composed manner of one of the most accomplished portrait painters of the 18th century. The 1774 portrait shows the precise observation and elegant composition that make Vigee-LeBrun one of the most successful women painters in history.
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