NICOLAS-ANDRÉ MONSIAU (Paris 1754-1837)

A student of Pierre Peyron, exhibited his works at the Salon from 1787 to 1833, following Monsiau's election to the Academy. His work not only included paintings of subjects taken from antiquity, religious and national history, but also highly finished drawings. He also executed painted and drawn portraits, similar to the present sheet, including those of César Van Loo (1743-1821) and Jean-Antoine Houdon (1754-1837), which are similar in size, technique and style to the drawing shown here (Portraits and People. Nineteenth Century Paintings and Drawings, exhib. cat., New York, Brandt Dayton, 1983, nos. 2, 3, ill.). According to a contemporary inscription on the verso, the sitter would be the actor Pierre-Marie-Nicolas (known as Théodore) Michelot (1786-1856), who in 1811 became sociétaire of the Comédie Française and was particularly admired for his comedic talent. A portrait of Michelot as a young man by Adèle Romany was sold at the Hôtel Drouot, Paris, 8 december 2017, lot 84. Closer in date to the present work is a group portrait dated 1848 by François-Joseph Heim at the Musée du Château de Versailles (Paris romantique, 1815-1848, exhib. cat., Paris, Petit Palais and Musée de la Vie Romantique, 2019).