Portrait of an Artist
Jean-Simon Barthélemy, Portrait of an Artist, 1802, oil on canvas, Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Edwin Binney, 3rd, public domain, 85.66.2
This work is not currently on view.
- Title
Portrait of an Artist
- Artist
- Related People
pictured in: Hubert Robert (French, 1733-1808)
- Date
1802
- Medium
oil on canvas
- Dimensions (H x W x D)
24 in x 19 3/8 in
- Inscriptions & Markings
signature/maker's mark: signed, lower right,"Barthelemy cus (?) X"; "Mr. Kaplan" in white on strecther bar (verso)
- Collection Area
European Art
- Category
Paintings
- Object Type
painting
- Culture
French
- Credit Line
Gift of Dr. and Mrs. Edwin Binney, 3rd
- Accession Number
85.66.2
- Copyright
public domain
- Terms
It is notable that the date inscribed on this painting appears in the Roman numeral form of the new calendar adopted during the French Revolution. This may be a portrait of Robert Hubert, who was active, along with Berthélemy, in the revolutionary government's artists' council of the Musée Central des Arts. Besides executing major commissions for the decoration of public buildings, Berthélemy served from 1798 to 1802 as curator of the Musée. In this role, he selected suitable works from confiscated royal and aristocratic collections for the new national museum, established in the Palais du Louvre.
