circa 1780
oil on canvas
58.4 x 48.3 cm (23 x 19 in.)
inscribed left center G.B. Greuze

PROVENANCE
Possibly Louis-Bertin Parant (1768-1851), Paris
Thomas Jefferson Bryan (1802-1870)
Given to the New York Historical Society in 1867 by Thomas Jefferson Bryan (Inventory 1867.262)
Sold by the Historical Society at Sotheby`s in December, 1997, Sale No. 1562, lot 54
Sands & Company, New York (purchased at the above auction)
Private Collection, USA

LITERATURE
Bryan Catalogue, 1853, p.15, no. 209 (as Greuze and of the Duc de Choiseul)
Bryan Companion Catalogue, 1853, pp 118-19, no. 209
Catalogue, 1915, p. 88, no. B-262

LOT NOTES
Originally owned by Thomas Jefferson Bryan, one of the first major collectors of old masters in New York City history, who bequeathed his collection to the New York Historical Society in 1867, the current portrait is a strikingly well executed verion of Duplessis`s Self-Portrait in the Musee Comtadin et Musee Duplessis in Carpentras. Known to many Americans for his portrait of Benjamin Franklin, which is reproduced on the US hundred dollar bill, Duplessis was the pre-eminent portrait painter of his generation. After his portrait of the Dauphine in 1771, Duplessis was appointed peintre du Roi, and apart from his portrait of Louis XVI, sitters for his works including such illustrious figures as Jacques Necker, Christophe Willibald Gluck, and Josep-Marie Vien, amongst others. He generally painted his portraits, including this self-portrait in duplicate versions. The clarity, vibrancy, and emotiveness of the present self-portrait are hallmarks of Duplessis`s portraiture.