François-Hubert Drouais, 'The Comte de Vaudreuil', 1758
About the work
Overview
In this imposing portrait, designed to emphasis its sitter’s wealth and status, the eighteen-year-old comte de Vaudreuil (1740–1817) points at a map of Saint-Domingue (present-day Haiti and the Dominican Republic). His father was governor of the island, then a French colony, and the count earned substantial income from enslaved labour on its plantations.
Vaudreuil was a junior army officer, but instead of his uniform he wears a blue velvet coat lined with squirrel fur and a brocade waistcoat with festoons of gold and silver lace. His wig is tied in place by a black silk ribbon fastened in a bow at the neck. The red heels on his shoes indicate his aristocratic status. Drouais’s idealising portraits often flattered his sitters. Although still only a young man and hardly in need of flattery, the count has a flawless complexion with rosy cheeks and lips and large, bright eyes. The portrait has an air of informality and, rather than military stiffness, Vaudreuil’s long slender body has a slight tilt.
Key facts
Details
- Full title
- The Comte de Vaudreuil
- Artist
- François-Hubert Drouais
- Artist dates
- 1727 - 1775
- Date made
- 1758
- Medium and support
- oil on canvas
- Dimensions
- 225.4 × 161.3 cm
- Inscription summary
- Signed; Dated
- Acquisition credit
- Presented by Barons Emile-Beaumont d'Erlanger, Frédéric d'Erlanger and Rodolphe d'Erlanger, in memory of their parents, 1927
- Inventory number
- NG4253
- Location
- Room 35
- Collection
- Main Collection
- Frame
- 19th-century French Frame
Provenance
Additional information
Text extracted from the ‘Provenance’ section of the catalogue entry in Humphrey Wine, ‘National Gallery Catalogues: The Eighteenth Century French Paintings’, London 2018; for further information, see the full catalogue entry.
Exhibition history
-
2018High SocietyRijksmuseum Amsterdam8 March 2018 - 3 June 2018
Bibliography
-
1946Martin Davies, National Gallery Catalogues: French School, London 1946
-
1957Martin Davies, National Gallery Catalogues: French School, 2nd edn (revised), London 1957
-
2001
C. Baker and T. Henry, The National Gallery: Complete Illustrated Catalogue, London 2001
-
2018Wine, Humphrey, National Gallery Catalogues: The Eighteenth Century French Paintings, London 2018
About this record
If you know more about this painting or have spotted an error, please contact us. Please note that exhibition histories are listed from 2009 onwards. Bibliographies may not be complete; more comprehensive information is available in the National Gallery Library.