http://dmf.culture.fr/files/portrait.html (Einblicke ins Internet, 10/1995)
The portrait
The portrait
"The Salon will imperceptibly become nothing more than a portrait gallery. They
take up almost a third of this one," observed Diderot. This enthusiasm for the
portrait testifies to the Age of Enlightenment's sustained interest in mankind.
Alongside recognised portraitists, other painters -
Boilly, Boucher,
David,
Danloux,
Duplessis,
Fragonard, Greuze,
Gros,
Prud'hon, Vincent,
Wicar - eagerly tried their hand at this
sought-after and thus profitable genre. Rigaud,
Alexis-Simon Belle,
Aved,
Nattier,
François-Hubert Drouais,
Tocqué, Ducreux,
Adélaïde
Labille-Guiard and
Elisabeth-Louise Vigée-Lebrun worked
for the court of France, while
Louis-Michel Van Loo found custom at the
Spanish court.
Roslin was much esteemed by the aristocracy, as was
Largillière by the upper middle classes,
Perronneau by the
bourgeoisie involved in international business and
Aubry by artists.
François Gérard
became the Bonaparte family's favourite
portraitist under the First Empire. The pictorial quality of this genre was
often coupled with a genuine iconographical interest, with portraits of
architects,
men of letters,
musicians,
actors,
painters or
sculptors,
prelates,
politicians,
royalty and
scholars.
Parallel to these realist portraits, generally reserved for the bourgeoisie and
artists, the
mythological portrait also enjoyed a certain amount of
success, especially at court.