JOSEPH-SIFFRED DUPLESSIS | Portrait of a gentleman shell collector

Private collection, France, since the 18th century.

The painting is a bit less yellow than the catalogue illustration would suggest. The painting is in fairly good condition. Under the naked eye: The canvas has been relined. A rather crude and discoloured retouching to the right of the figure's face can be observed (also visible in the catalogue illustration). The painted surface is covered with a dense craquelure pattern which shows some superficial moist spots in the background area around the figure. In that same area some areas with a somewhat more coarse craquelure pattern can be discerned (see illustration); an old pressure point can be seen at the end of the figure's sleeve near his wrist (visible in the illustration as well). The painting would greatly benefit from a proper attentive restoration. Inspection underneath U.V. light: The varnish layer fluoresces largely showing retouching mentioned above, and some in the upper background area of the picture. The figure itself with his clothing and accessories seems to be rather nicely preserved. Offered with an oval giltwood frame, in good condition.
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We are grateful to M. Jean-Paul Chabaud, a specialist on the artist, for confirming the authenticity of this work from a photograph. The painting will be included in his forthcoming book, currently in preparation.

Joseph-Siffred Duplessis is a portraitist who requires no further introduction, known and recognised as he is for his bust and full-length portraits of Louis XVI. The recognition of his talent led to his being named Painter to the King, allowing him to gain the privilege of painting the portraits of the nobility, the bourgeoisie, the artists and other notable personalities of his time.

The gentleman in our painting is someone who wished to be recorded for posterity as a 'curieux' or 'amateur', a shell in his hand. The man sits at a table, wearing an ample coat of a golden beige colour and a powdered wig tied at the back, as was still the custom at the end of the Ancien Régime. Affable, he wears the beginnings of a beard and fixes us with his gaze.

This painting can be dated to the early 1780s. Indeed, our portrait is stylistically very close to the superb Self-Portrait dated to this year [1]. In it can be found elements such as the slight smile typical of the artist's portraits, his light touch, his way of arranging the folds of clothing and the care he took to render his subject in a realistic and recognisable manner. In 1780, Duplessis was at the height of his fame and his reputation was sealed: a member of the Académie Royale de Peinture, he had an apartment for life in the galleries of the Louvre; he was fifty-five years old.

Born in Carpentras, Joseph-Siffred Duplessis was first directed towards history painting taking after his father and history painter Joseph-Gabriel Imbert. In 1744 he travelled to Rome, where where he studied for several years in the studio of the French painter Pierre Subleyras, until 1747, and also frequently visited Joseph Vernet, another French painter active in the eternal city. As a candidate member of the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, Duplessis was quickly recommended by the first painter to the king, Jean-Baptiste Marie Pierre, for executing the very first official portrait, painted from the life model, of the young Louis Auguste becoming king. In 1771 Duplessis was also selected to execute the equestrian portrait of the young dauphine Marie-Antoinette. This proximity to the world of Versailles and its royal circle may have allowed him to rub shoulders with important illustrious personalities of his time including Jacques Necker, the comte d'Angiviller, the princesse de Lamballe, or even Benjamin Franklin.

The shell held in his hand is remarkable. At almost the same time the portrait was being painted, two volumes by Antoine-Joseph Désallier d'Argenville (1680-1765) appeared on the study of shells, conchyliology, with a register of the principal collections in France and abroad [2]. The subject of our portrait might figure in this inventory, which had been drawn up several decades before, even though we know this work through a 1780 edition under the direction of MM. de Favanne de Montcervelle. All the same, we can deduce that our sitter was a man of his century, in love with the sciences and all of nature's curiosities.

[1] Joseph-Siffred Duplessis, Autoportrait, 1780, oil on canvas, 59 x 49 cm, Carpentras, musée Comtadin-Duplessis, inv. 2009.0.4.

[2] Antoine-Joseph Désallier d'Argenville, La Conchyliologie, ou Histoire naturelle des coquilles de mer, d'eau douce, terrestres et fossiles, avec un traité de zoomorphe, ou représentation des animaux qui les habitent : Ouvrage dans lequel on trouve une nouvelle Méthode de les diviser, 3^e éd., Paris, 1780, pp. 199 and following.