Portrait of an artist (thought to be Anne-Louis Girodet de Roucy-Trioson [1767-1824])

Peter Adolf Hall was Swedish but worked in France and was appointed "Peintre de Roi" (Painter to the Court). The sketchy style he worked in is similar to that employed by Jean Honoré Fragonard. These artists introduced a new direction in French miniature painting during the 1770s. Hall's influence declined after the French Revolution; in 1791 he fled to Belgium.

In catalogs of the Walters collection from 1893, 1895 and 1901 this miniature is described as being a portrait of the artist Girodet de Roucy-Trioson, a pupil of David, but it was also thought that it might be a self-portrait by Hall. However, the sitter resembles other portraits known to show Girodet, so this present identification seems more likely pending further research.

This miniature is in a gilt metal frame from Leferre Frères, Paris.

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Provenance

Provenance (from the French provenir, 'to come from/forth') is the chronology of the ownership, custody, or location of a historical object. Learn more about provenance at the Walters.

William T. or Henry Walters, Baltimore [before 1893, mode of acquisition unknown]; Walters Art Museum, 1931, by bequest.