CLAUDE JEAN BAPTISTE HOIN | A self portrait, bust length

pastel on blue paper, lined with canvas;
inscribed and dated in red pastel center right: 'Don de l'an 1805';
inscribed on the reverse: 'Portrait de M. Hoin, mon gendre, de L'Académie de Dijon, professeur de Dessin au Lycée de la dite ville. Peint par lui-même au mois de septembre 1805, don't il m'a fait cadeau le 19 octobre suivant'

By descent to the artist's brother-in-law, M. Adelon;
Thence by descent to Roger [Royer]-Collard, Tours;
D. David-Weill, Neuilly-sur-Seine, Paris;
Anonymous sale, London, Sotheby's, 10 June 1959, lot 95;
W.H. Schab Gallery, New York, late 1960s, catalogue 28, no 23, reproduced;
Emile Wolf, New York;
Thence by descent to the present owner.

Cambridge, Massachusetts, Fogg Art Museum/Malibu, J. Paul Getty Museum/Montreal, Museum of Fine Arts, 'Louis XIII - Louis XVI:  French Drawings from a Private Collection', 1980, pp. 161-162, no. 61;
Tampa Museum, 'Louis XIII - Louis XVI:  French Drawings from a Private Collection', 1982;
Little Rock, The Arkansas Arts Center, 'Louis XIII - Louis XVI:  French Drawings from a Private Collection', 1983.

Gabriel Henriot, 'La Collection David-Weill', Paris, 1926-1928, vol. II, p. 17;
Charles Morice, "Collection David-Weill", 'L'Art et les artistes', August 1907, vol. XXVII, p. 232;
N. Jeffares, 'Dictionary of pastellists before 1800', London 2006, pp. 249-250, reproduced, p. 250.

Executed in pastel on blue paper, that has in turn been wrapped around a stretcher and the verso lined with canvas. There is some rubbing and minor losses to the medium, in particular to the extremities. Otherwise in predominantly good condition with the image generally strong throughout. Sold in a giltwood frame.
The lot is sold in the condition it is in at the time of sale. The condition report is provided to assist you with assessing the condition of the lot and is for guidance only. Any reference to condition in the condition report for the lot does not amount to a full description of condition. The images of the lot form part of the condition report for the lot provided by Sotheby's. Certain images of the lot provided online may not accurately reflect the actual condition of the lot. In particular, the online images may represent colours and shades which are different to the lot's actual colour and shades. The condition report for the lot may make reference to particular imperfections of the lot but you should note that the lot may have other faults not expressly referred to in the condition report for the lot or shown in the online images of the lot. The condition report may not refer to all faults, restoration, alteration or adaptation because Sotheby's is not a professional conservator or restorer but rather the condition report is a statement of opinion genuinely held by Sotheby's. For that reason, Sotheby's condition report is not an alternative to taking your own professional advice regarding the condition of the lot.

Claude Hoin was the the son of a distinguished doctor in Dijon.  He arrived in Paris around 1772 and studied alongside fellow artist Jean Baptiste Greuze.  In 1788 he became the teacher of drawing at the Royal Military School and he also became court painter to the Count of Provence, the future King Louis XVIII.

Hoin produced a large number of chalk drawings on blue paper, often with pastel highlights.  He also executed a number of works in gouache as well as being a talented miniaturist.  His output in the pastel medium highlights his love of bold and animated colours and his application demonstrates a strong sense of draftsmanship.  Hoin would frequently copy works by the Old Masters using pastel as his preferred medium. 

The present work, a strong and inquisitive self portrait (a genre that Hoin clearly enjoyed as he produced so many), dates to circa 1805, and shares similar characteristics to the elegant head studies that he drew on blue paper around the same time.  The soft and almost sfumato effects display a knowledge of other great pastellists like Rosalba Carriera and La Tour, who in fact we know he studied and admired, as he left two Rosalba pastels and three La Tour sketches to Dijon upon his death.