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...