Alexandre Charles Emmanuel de Crussol-Florensac (1743–1815)
In one of her most successful portraits, Vigée Le Brun has depicted her sitter rising from a mass of rich fabrics to face us directly, with nonchalant yet piercing blue eyes. The scumbled texture of the background, associated with Jacques Louis David, became a hallmark of neoclassical painting. Crussol-Florensac occupied roles as soldier, captain of the guard to the comte d’Artois, and actor. The rippled blue sash of the order of Saint-Esprit provided an opportunity for painterly virtuosity; the more discreet cross of the Knights of Malta announced the sitter’s celibacy, but he enjoyed a long relationship with the marquise de Grollier, a still-life painter who was also a friend and sitter to Vigée Le Brun.
Artwork Details
- Title: Alexandre Charles Emmanuel de Crussol-Florensac (1743–1815)
- Artist: Elisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun (French, Paris 1755–1842 Paris)
- Date: 1787
- Medium: Oil on wood
- Dimensions: 35 3/8 x 25 1/2 in. (89.9 x 64.8 cm)
- Classification: Paintings
- Credit Line: The Jules Bache Collection, 1949
- Object Number: 49.7.53
- Curatorial Department: European Paintings
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