Adèle Chavassieu d'HAUDEBERT (Niort, 1788 - 1831) Portrait... Lot 25

Adèle Chavassieu d'HAUDEBERT (Niort, 1788 - 1831) Portrait of Auguste Boucher-Desnoyer in academician's dress (1779-1857), 1820 Miniature in painted enamel on copper; sky blue counter enamel Titled, signed and dated on the reverse: "Mr Auguste Boucher Desnoyer. / engraver and draftsman, knight of the legion/honor, and of the order of St Michel, member of the institute of France & / painted from life by / adele Chavassieu / Paris 1820 ". Size : 14,7 x 11,2 cm, in an oval wooden frame : 20 x 16,5 cm A native artist of Niort, Adèle Chavassieu d'Haudebert devoted herself to enamel painting and exhibited her works at the Paris Salon between 1806 and 1824. She is notably known for having participated in the great commission of Count Giovanni Battista Sommariva (1760-1826). This important collector of neo-classical and romantic art from the beginning of the 19th century in France and Italy called upon the most important enamel artists of the time, such as Abraham Constantin (1785-1855), Édouard Gautier-Dagoty (1775-1871) and Henri L'Évêque (1769-1832) to execute works in painted enamel after the great old masters and the most famous contemporary artists. Of the hundred or so enamelled works commissioned by him, no less than seventy-nine were by Adèle Chavassieu. It is perhaps in the context of this commission that the artist met the famous painter and engraver Auguste Boucher-Desnoyer who, since 1796, has published the most remarkable works in the history of painting and whose engraving of La Belle Jardinière after Raphael propelled his career. Here, Adèle Chavassieu presents him at the height of his glory, in his academician's outfit (he was received in 1816), displaying the medal of knight of the Legion of Honor (appointed on June 23, 1820).