Mid-19th-Century French School, Portrait Of A Chemist

Mid-19th-Century French School, Portrait Of A ChemistThis striking mid 19th century French portrait presents a male sitter standing calmly beside a table laid with the tools of scientific inquiry. Dressed in a dark frock coat with carefully tied cravat and striped trousers, he meets the viewer with a direct, composed gaze. His posture is relaxed but purposeful, one hand resting near a mineral or inorganic specimen, the other holding a watch chain. The restrained interior setting and plain background

He initially painted in a traditional manner with careful attention to every branch

This iconic style of still life was made popular by the Dutch old masters in the 17th-century when many of the goods depicted were considered highly exotic and precious

Light craquelure but the paint layer is stable

The ship advances under both canvas and steam

Michael Hoy

which isn’t surprising given his keenness as a collector

000 achieved for an oil painting in 1996

Shayer excelled and was soon employed as a heraldic painter for George Parsons of Chichester

The pub is also rendered particularly well

His works are held in major galleries across Scotland

This work was exhibited at the illustrious Charlottenborg Spring Exhibition and bears a label on the reverse

It’s a tinted vision of a romanticised idyll