(1767 Nancy – Paris 1855)
Portrait de Monsieur Pujol
Pen, ink and wash
12.20 x 9 in
18 x 15 in. framed
Signed, dated, and dedicated lower left : Isabey f / pour monsieur Pujol / le 15 Juillet 1803
Jean-Baptiste Isabey was born in Nancy into a rather modest family and received his artistic training with landscape painter Jean-Baptiste Claudot (1733-1805) and fresco artist Jean Girardet (1709-1778). Having to leave Nancy for Paris in 1785, it was during this period that he took up miniature painting on boxes and historiated buttons to support himself. Thanks to his talent, he was soon introduced to Marie-Antoinette at the court of Versailles and was given the opportunity to paint many portraits.
In 1788 he joined the studio of Jacques-Louis David (1748-1825), with whom he forged a lasting friendship, assisting his master with several paintings. His career took a real turn when he met the Bonaparte family while teaching drawing at the Institut National de Saint-Germain. Particularly appreciated by the Napoleonides, he was chosen as “Orderly of Public Festivities and Private Celebrations at the Tuileries, Designer of Seal of Titles”, to design all the costumes for Napoleon’s coronation in 1804.
Later in demand for his miniaturist skills, he produced a large number of watercolor portraits and porcelain decorations, notably for the Manufacture de Sèvres. His remarkable talents as a decorator were also put to good use in stage design, as in 1810 he became chief designer of the Paris Opera.
Jean-Baptiste Isabey was the perfect example of a painter in the service of the Bonapartes, but this did not prevent him from becoming a major Restoration artist. He held salons in his private mansion on the rue des Trois-Frères, where, for example, the composer François-Adrien Boieldieu (1775-1834) performed. Always appreciated by the powers that be, he was appointed designer and organizer of the Court’s festivities and shows by Louis XVII, and later designed the decor for the chapelle ardente for the sovereign’s funeral.
Our drawing of a certain Monsieur Pujol, drawn in pen and enhanced with wash, confirms the artist’s sociable nature and fondness for the lively exchange of ideas. Unlike his large-scale official commissions, this piece serves as a more personal and intimate gift shared between friends.
Indeed, Monsieur Pujol was well known in the Parisian artistic milieu of the early 19th century, as he ran one of the capital’s most famous inns, the Hôtel Garni de la Grange-Batelière, at 2, rue Pinon, now rue Rossini. After working as a tailor at the Maison de la Reine until 1790, he and his wife, Jeanne Henriette Vansut, turned to the hotel and restaurant business. His establishment was frequented by a prestigious clientele of artists, soldiers and politicians.
It was at this inn that the painters Carle Vernet and his son Horace – regulars, as Isabey probably was – maintained close relations with the Imperial Guard, enabling them to obtain the commission to renew all the Empire’s military costumes in 1811. Monsieur Pujol was close to all these artists – so much so, in fact, that his daughter, Louise Jeanne, married Horace Vernet in 1811 – and enjoyed a genuine friendship with them, as this poignant drawing by Isabey testifies.
In this highly modern portrait, not least because of the way it is framed, the proprietor is seized mid-body, his legs obscured by a billiard table, holding the cane in his right hand and resting it on his shoulder. The model’s pose, suggesting a light staging, emphasizes the closeness he maintains with the painter, underlined by that frank smile and the look that invites him to play. Finally, Isabey’s dedication corroborates the idea of a sincere friendship. This portrait, lightly drawn and sparingly washed, is therefore a striking testimony to the intimacy and friendships experienced by one of the most famous portraitists and decorators of early 19th-century France.