Nicolas Ricoeur was accepted into the Académie de Bordeaux in 1772. At the Salon of 1774 he presented his Morceau de réception, a flower still life in a crystal vase. In 1776, Le Brun recorded him in his 1776 Almanach historique et raisonné des architectes, peintres et sculpteurs, 'Ricoeur, peintre de fleurs; il sait leur donner une fraîcheur peu commune'. The inscribed initials 'JB' could be a reference to the influence of Jean-Baptiste Monnoyer.