Jean-Baptiste Greuze Tournus 1725 - 1805 Paris

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Description

Jean-Baptiste Greuze
portrait of a gentleman, probably Louis Moreau de Saint-Méry (1750 - 1819)
inscribed in an old hand on the reverse of the frame: Louis Moreau de...
oil on panel, in a carved and gilt wood frame

Provenance

Private collection, London;
With Wildenstein & Co., Inc., by 1968.

Exhibited

London, Wildenstein, Life and Love: Post -Revolution. An Exhibition to Celebrate the Feast of St. Valentine, 14 February - 27 March 1968.

Literature

The New International Encyclopedia, New York 1910, vol. XIII, p. 794;
A. Bury, 'In the Galleries', in The Connoisseur, November 1968, p. 172, reproduced.

Catalogue Note

The supposed sitter, Médéric Louis Elie Moreau de Saint-Méry (1750 - 1819), was a key political figure in France during the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Born in French Martinique, he became a judge of the supreme court of French Santo Domingo and deputy for Martinique to the Etats Généraux in 1789. He played an active role in the early part of the French Revolution, although was subsequently imprisoned in 1792. He soon managed to escape however and fled to the United States, where he remained until 1800, after which he became Councillor of State until 1806. In addition to his political career, Moreau de Saint-Méry was an accomplished author, his published corpus including his 'Lois et Constitutions des Colonies Françaises de l'Amérique sous le Vent de 1550 à 1785' (five volumes, 1764-85).

We are grateful to Mr. Edgar Munhall for endorsing the attribution to Jean-Baptiste Greuze (written communication, 2 March 2004), following first hand inspection, and for suggesting a date of execution circa 1790-92.