"Portrait of a Youth in an Embroidered Vest," Marie Victoire Lemoine, 1785.

Lemoine (1754-1820) was a French Neoclassical painter, one of few women of the time to paint professionally and earn her sole living that way. She did mostly portraits, miniatures, and genre scenes, and while a success at her peak, she died nearly penniless.

The subject of this portrait is unknown, although some sources claim it's Louis Benoit Zamor, a protege of Madame DuBarry. Zamor, sold as a slave, was made a gift to DuBarry and during the French Revolution was a sympathizer to the Jacobins and gave testimony against DuBarry that led to her execution.

Although he was taken in present-day Bangladesh, it's presumed he was part of the Siddi group, or Bengalis of African ancestry. DuBarry had him educated, and he was reportedly quite well-read, with a fondness for the works of Jean-Jacques Rousseau. But he loathed DuBarry and was happy to throw in his lot with the revolutionaries, although a rival faction took against him and threw him in prison. He was released six weeks later, fled France, and then returned in 1815 after the fall of Napoleon; he also died in 1820.

From the Cummer Museum, Jacksonville, FL.

#Art #WomenArtists #MarieVictoireLemoine #Zamor #FrenchRevolution #SlavesInArt #EarlyPortraitsOfBlackPeople #Neoclassicism