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ANTIQUE #SA1110885

Late 18th-century French School, Portrait Of A Gentleman With A Cloak - Antique Oil Painting

£1,395    $1,753    €1,677
This enchanting late 18th-century French portrait depicts a debonair gentleman wearing a dark green coat, white necktie, and black cloak.
 
Produced during a time of unparalleled political unrest in France, there’s a certain air of intrigue surrounding this piece from circa 1795. It reminds us in several ways of Jacques-Louis David’s (1748-1825) self-portrait from 1794, which he undertook while imprisoned for his revolutionary views. There’s a shared intensity in the eyes coupled with an underlying sense of restlessness. It’s also plausibly a self-portrait with the artist working from his reflection.
 
The cloak is a particularly interesting addition as it’s worn over the left shoulder only and could be seen as conveying a symbolic reference. Is he metaphorically concealing his subversive ideologies? Or is it simply an aesthetic tool to increase visual interest?
 
“The questioning spirit is the rebellious spirit. A rebellion is always either a cloak to hide a prince or the swaddling wrapper of a new rule.” Honoré de Balzac (1799- 1850).
 
The portrait is signed indistinctly on the right and held in a splendid gilt frame, which is probably original.
 
Medium: Oil on canvas
 
Overall size: 23½” x 27” / 60cm x 69cm
 
Year of creation: c. 1795
 
Provenance: Private collection, Germany.
 
Condition: Cleaned. Canvas relined. Areas of fine and settled craquelure, as you would expect. The paint layer is stable. Frame with various marks and showing its age.
 
Our reference: BRV1975
 
Antique Number: SA1110885
Dateline of this antique is 18th Century
Height is 69cm (27.2inches)
Width is 60cm (23.6inches)
Depth is 5cm (2.0inches)
Antique #SA1110885, shown on this page, originates from the 18th century. For historical context, the timeline below highlights the period when it was made:
←C18th
Famous inventions historic timeline graphic to help to give historical context to the date of this antique.
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Brave Fine Art
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