Armand Louis Le Boulanger, Marquis d'Acqueville
1791-1796
18th-19th century
140.8 cm x 111.8 cm (55 7/16 in. x 44 in.)
Aimée Duvivier
(France, circa 1766 - after 1843)
Primary
Object Type:
painting
Artist Nationality:
Europe, French
Medium and Support:
Oil on canvas
Credit Line:
Blanton Museum of Art, The University of Texas at Austin, Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Clark W. Thompson, Sr., 1964
Accession Number:
G1964.25
Dressed in a dark blue coat, bluish gray breeches, and a pale yellow waistcoat with poppy design, the Marquis D’Acqueville presents himself as a fashionable young aristocrat. The bust sculpture of a classical figure, the rolled-up musical score, and the quill pen in the inkwell suggest that he wished to be seen as a man of letters. The numbers “23 7 1791” on the letter in the sitter’s hand most likely indicate the date when the work was painted.
Aimée Duvivier was among the few women selected to show their work at official exhibitions organized by the French Academy in the late 1700s. Coming from a family of artists, she may have also studied with Jacques-Louis David. The flat, unadorned background, the subdued palette of blue and gray with just a dash of red, the casual pose, and the restrained handling of paint are characteristic of the neoclassical formula that David popularized during the period of the French Revolution.