Portrait of a Seated Gentleman
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Portrait of a Seated Gentleman is an intriguing portrait painted by Nicolas Benjamin Delapierre in 1785.
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[edit] Description
The well-executed canvas, signed B. N. De La Pierre, is dated 1785 and measures 29-1/2 inches (height) by 24-1/2 inches (width). It shows an 18th-century gentleman sitting at a desk and beginning to write on a single sheet of paper. On the desk in the foreground is a prominently displayed copy of “De la Caisse d’Escompte,” a financial pamphlet published on 17 May 1785 by the famous French orator and statesman Mirabeau (Honoré Gabriel Riqueti, comte de Mirabeau).
This portrait is particularly intriguing because it was painted several years before Mirabeau achieved prominence, and because the conspicuous financial pamphlet ultimately had important repercussions leading up to the French Revolution.
[edit] Provenance
The provenance before 1928 is unknown.
- 1 October 1928, Ugo Bardini (son of the internationally renowned art collector and connoisseur Stefano Bardini) sells to the art dealer Thos. Agnew & Sons, London
- 5 March 1929, Thos. Agnew & Sons sells to the renowned art collector and New York Philharmonic Orchestra conductor Josef Stransky
- 6 March 1936, passes to Stransky’s widow upon his death
- 16 October 1954, following Mrs. Stransky's death, Parke-Bernet Galleries in New York sells to the wealthy entrepreneur and art collector Mr. O. Roy Chalk
- 1 December 1995, passes to Claire Chalk upon the death of her husband
- 14 April 1996, Mrs. Chalk sells to an anonymous buyer at C. G. Sloan & Company in Bethesda, Maryland
[edit] Subject
Speculation that the painting might depict the author of the pamphlet (Mirabeau) is refuted by comparing the sitter to known images of Mirabeau.
