France / 1774
Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger
The Cleveland Museum of Art catalogs Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the Younger as painting (France · 1774).
Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne was a sculptor--there's one of his works in the CMA's collection.
A CLOSER LOOK
The museum identifies this painting as oil on canvas and credits Elisabeth Louise Vigée-LeBrun (French, 1755–1842).
The museum's collection notes: This signed portrait reinterprets a well-known pastel by Maurice-Quentin de La Tour of the important French sculptor Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the younger (1704–1778). The sculptor, seen toward the end of his life, appears in working garb. His close-cropped grey hair, frank, observant stare, and bemused smile all demonstrate the closeness of the young painter to the elder sculptor. The work also speaks to Vigée-LeBrun’s interest in naturalistic portraiture (as opposed to her more formal, commissioned portraits), and—in the handling of the paint as well as her source image—her debt to pastel painting, her original medium.
FOLLOW THE EVIDENCE
The Cleveland Museum of ArtPortrait of Jean-Baptiste Lemoyne the YoungerOriginal explanation based on the sources above. Images carry their own reuse terms.