François-André Vincent (1746-1816)
Portrait of an Artist, about 1780-1782
Oil on canvas - 81 x 64 cm
Strasbourg, Musée des Beaux-Arts
Photo : Galerie Coatalem
29/11/11 - Acquisition - Strasbourg, Musée des Beaux-Arts - The Alsatian museum, extremely active in the last few months when it comes to acquisitions policies, recently purchased a portrait by François-André Vincent from the Coatalem Gallery in Paris.
The model is a painter, as seen from the palette which he is holding in his left hand and the canvas glimpsed in the background. Although the pose might indicate a self-portrait, this is in fact not the case. However, the artist in question has not been identified.
According to Jean-Pierre Cuzin who was gracious enough to answer our questions [1], the work might date from the early 1780’s, that is after the painter’s return from Rome in 1775. Executed in a very light and very soft manner, almost sketched, the painting gives the appearance of being unfinished. This style, close to that of Fragonard’s, is frequent in Vincent’s work before or during his Italian stay, according to Jean-Pierre Cuzin, although in a bolder and heavier manner.
In any case, the canvas once again confirms the artist’s multifaceted talents, producing different works according to each period but also varying from one painting to another around the same dates.
This one will form a perfect echo to another portrait from the late 18th century, of Bernardo Yriarte by Francisco Goya which already hangs in the museum.
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