An artwork on Galleree from Minneapolis Institute of Art.
About the artwork
Self-Portrait1786
Artist: Jean-Laurent Mosnier
French, about 1743/44–1808
Self-portrait of the artist, three quarter length.
32 11/16 x 25 3/16 in. (83.03 x 63.98 cm) (canvas)
Oil on canvas
Painting
France
18th century
Bruce B. Dayton Fund
In the heart of 18th century France, an artist's dream took shape beneath the fluttering silk of royal gowns, where the light danced softly on the canvases that chronicled the lives of nobility. Jean-Laurent Mosnier stood amongst them, a painter chosen to capture the essence of Queen Marie-Antoinette herself. With a steady hand and an eye for detail, he crafted polished portraits that revealed not just faces, but the very souls of his subjects.
Yet, within the crevices of his artistic journey lay a moment of vulnerability—a humble sketch he made for himself. In it, we see less of the grandeur of royal life, and more of the man behind the brush. It was 1787, a pivotal year as he approached the gates of the esteemed French Royal Academy. He displayed a self-portrait, not a grand tableau, but a simple yet profound scene of himself poised at an easel, creating. Two young women gazed upon him with admiration, captivated by the magic unfolding on the canvas. To the right, his palette rested—a rounded object brimming with colors, just like his aspirations.
However, the winds of change swept through France, stirring the smoldering embers of revolution. Mosnier's close ties to the royal family placed him in peril, and he felt the urgent tug of self-preservation. As revolutionary fervor ignited, he fled the country, embarking on an odyssey across Europe. Six years in the bustling streets of London, followed by a sojourn in the quaint elegance of Hamburg, Germany lent a new chapter to his life.
For the last eight years, the artist sought refuge in the sprawling city of St. Petersburg, Russia. There, the sketch he had once created lay quietly, tucked away, as if awaiting a time when it could tell its story—a piece of history intertwined with the whispers of art and revolution, remaining untouched through the passage of the 1800s, a gentle reminder of an era long gone. Mosnier's journey, like his art, was a tapestry woven with threads of admiration, turmoil, and resilience, a reflection of the life led in pursuit of beauty amidst chaos.
About the artist
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