Un Bûveur sous une Treille (A Drinker under a Trellis)

Having trained under Nicolas Largillierre, Jacques-François Delyen was a regular exhibitor of portraits and, occasionally, genre scenes at the Salon between 1737 and 1747. Although this work was sold in 1977 as a self-portrait by Largillierre (loc. cit.), it was later recognized as an autograph work by Delyen by Gérard de Wallens, who published it as such first in his 2005 dissertation and again in his 2010 catalogue raisonné on the artist (loc. cit.). Exhibited at the Salon of 1745 by Delyen, the work was described as ‘Autre plus petit, représentant un Bûveur sous une Treille’ (Another small one, representing a Drinker under a Trellis).

De Wallens explored the sitter's identity, questioning whether it might be is Delyen himself. While acknowledging the possibility, he ultimately argued against it, noting that the painting was exhibited alongside another work explicitly described as a self-portrait. The sitter, who is dressed in typical attire for an artist of the time, may instead have been another artist or friend within Delyen’s circle.