Louis Favrin (fl. 1780-1813)

Portrait of a French Revolutionary in a Phrygian Cap

Watercolor and gouache 

1793

Signed "Favrin / 1793" to recto lower left corner

Diam. approx. 2 1/4 in. 

Contemporary brass pinback casing

Provenance: Lot 0121, July 15th Estate Auctions, 15 July 2012, Butterscoth Auctions

A sensitive and well-executed portrait of a French Revolutionary wearing a Phrygian cap with a patriotic tri-color tassel. Also known as the bonnet rouge, the hat was donned by the Sans-culottes and quickly became a universal symbol of revolutionary France. The unidentified subject gazes confidently at the viewer, wearing gold hoop earrings and a delicately rendered lace blouse, featuring an audacious and distinctly revolutionary neckline. 

Favrin (fl. 1789-1813/4) was a portrait miniaturist based in Paris. Working in the midst of the tumultuous French Revolution, his subjects, though unidentified, are almost certainly significant members of the rapidly changing political landscape. His most notable work is an 1810 portrait of Napoleon Bonaparte (c.f. National Trust Collections, no. 772571). The work offered here is one of his most explicitly revolutionary.

[Art, Fine Art, Portrait Miniature, Paintings, 18th Century] 

Not examined out of case.