Jean-Antoine LAURENT (Baccarat, 1763-Épinal, ... Lot n° 12

Portrait of Caroline Murat, Queen of Naples (circa 1810). Oval miniature, signed on the right "J. Laurent"; under glass, encircled with gilt bronze. Mounted on a round brown tortoiseshell snuffbox. Miniature : H. 5,2 x W. 4 cm. Provenance - Probably former collection of Caroline Murat (1782-1839). - Collection Emile Brouwet, under the n° 236. History Originally from Nancy, established in Paris around 1785, Jean-Antoine Laurent exhibited regularly at the Salon from 1791, considered by the critics as an excellent miniaturist, obtaining in 1808 a first class medal. In 1810, Denon drew Napoleon's attention to "the anecdotal genre" which he found peculiar to the French school, of which Laurent was one of the representatives along with Bergeret, Roehn and Richard-Fleury. At the end of the Empire, Laurent called himself a "painter of history", and in 1816 the Almanach des 25 000 adresses listed him as a "portrait painter". Laurent seems to have approached the imperial family several times since he received the protection of Empress Josephine and Queen Hortense on numerous occasions. He ended his career under the Restoration as a drawing teacher in Nancy. This miniature portrait is remarkable in particular for the presence of the luxurious jewelry of the Queen of Naples, of great interest for the history of jewelry. Napoleon's youngest sister is dressed in a large blue court dress with lace in the troubadour style, adorned with a superb toilet with a large diadem, pendants and a necklace with two rows of diamonds and blue sapphires. This miniature was probably part of Caroline Murat's collection and was made after the portrait Isabey painted for her around 1808. Related work Jean-Baptiste Isabey, Portrait of Queen Caroline Murat. 6.5 x 4.7 cm, Musée du Louvre, Department of Graphic Arts, inv. RF30753, former David-Weill collection (1957). Literature N. Lemoine-Bouchard, Les Peintres en miniature. 1650-1850, Paris, éd. de l'Amateur, 2008, pp. 330-331.