Studio of Louis Hersent (French, 1777-1860) Portrait... Lot 232

Studio of Louis Hersent (French, 1777-1860) Portrait of Casimir Perrier, Member of Parliament, 1827 Canvas. Marked on the back "V OTTOZ Elève de Mr Belot Rue de la Mutualité N°2A PARIS". Height 100 Width 81 cm. (accidents and restorations) Provenance : - Paul Fesnault collection, Blois, 1978 ; - acquired from previous owner; by descent, private collection, Bordeaux. Presented at the Salon of 1827 (no. 557), Hersent's original canvas is today unlocated, but has been the subject of numerous replicas, including the one by Desnos in the historical gallery of the Château de Versailles (inventory 3884), commissioned in 1843 and contemporary with the frame of our painting. Here, the statesman poses in his parliamentary robes before a painter who was probably a childhood friend and who portrayed him on several occasions, notably in 1819 with his children. Critics noted "the resemblance of the figure, the ease and aplomb of the pose, the finesse and mellowness of the brushwork, the truth of tone and fabrics, and the happy union of colors" (quoted by Marie-Anne de Brem, in "Louis Hersent, Peintre d'histoire et portraitiste", exhibition catalog, Musée de la vie Romantique, Paris, 1993).