Hyacinthe Rigaud (Circle), Portrait Of A Member Of The Greder Family

Hyacinthe Rigaud (Circle), Portrait Of A Member Of The Greder FamilyThis fine late 17th century oil painting by an artist working in the circle of French painter Hyacinthe Rigaud (1659 1743) depicts a distinguished member of the Greder family of Solothurn, one of the most prominent dynasties in the Swiss Confederation during the age of Louis XIV. Attired in a full periwig and long white bands over a black robe, here we see a gentleman associated with civic, legal, or administrative office. It's a sober portrayal,

It was reported by the local press that he was found to be drinking heavily and declared bankrupt in 1887

meeting the viewer with composed assurance

It’s signed Petter in the lower right

This early 20th-century pastel by Herbert Johnson Harvey (1884-1928) depicts the artist dressed in traditional peasant clothing while surreptitiously whispering

Several areas of the painting are so worn that the paint is barely visible - for example

has published an extensive biography at edwinellis

It reminds us in several ways of Jacques-Louis David’s (1748-1825) self-portrait from 1794

But thankfully

which included ‘Woman With A Pearl Necklace’ by Johannes Vermeer

Along the shoreline

abrasions and losses as expected given its use

Following an ancestry search