Alexandre Charles Emmanuel de Crussol-Florensac (1743–1815)

1787
On view at The Met Fifth Avenue in Gallery 632

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

Object Information
  • 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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