.jpg?w=1)
Lot Essay
Louis François Petit Radel trained as an architect under Charles de Wailly (1729-1798), an influential member of the Académie de l'Architecture in Paris. He was a gifted draughtsman and engraver and was involved with numerous official concours in Paris, as well as with the restoration of the church of St. Médard and the building of the abattoir at Roule. In 1799 he was appointed Inspecteur Général des monuments civils and, while holding this office, published a project for restoring the Pantheon, which had been closed for a number of years due to neglect.
In 1769 Duplessis was elected to the Académie royale, becoming a full member in 1774 and gaining favor with the court for whom he worked extensively over the next decade. His patrons included the King, the Comte de Provence, and the poet Michel-Paul Guillaume de Chabanon. Duplessis fell into disfavor during the Revolution and abandoned painting. He left Paris and did not return until 1796, when he assumed the position of Curator at the Musée de Versailles. He remained there until his death six years later.
The present work can be compared to Duplessis' 1785 portrait of de Chabanon, which he exhibited in the Salon of the same year.
In 1769 Duplessis was elected to the Académie royale, becoming a full member in 1774 and gaining favor with the court for whom he worked extensively over the next decade. His patrons included the King, the Comte de Provence, and the poet Michel-Paul Guillaume de Chabanon. Duplessis fell into disfavor during the Revolution and abandoned painting. He left Paris and did not return until 1796, when he assumed the position of Curator at the Musée de Versailles. He remained there until his death six years later.
The present work can be compared to Duplessis' 1785 portrait of de Chabanon, which he exhibited in the Salon of the same year.