Villers

It is not known who painted the miniatures signed with the name “Villers”. The artist Marie-Denise Lemoine, born in 1774, is not a candidate since she married Michel-Jean-Maximilien Villers only in 1794, after some of these miniatures had been painted and signed “Villers”. It would seem more likely that her husband, also an artist, painted these works, although he was an architect and designed gardens. However, he was born in 1769, too late to paint the earliest miniatures that are dated 1781. Furthermore, neither in his estate inventory (21 January 1839) nor in that of his first wife Marie Denise Lemoine (30 August 1821) were there any miniatures or working materials that would indicate an activity as a miniaturist (information kindly supplied by Henry-Noel Canival, Paris). The name Nicolas Villers (born in Paris in 1753) is recorded in the students’ registers of the Royal Academy, mentioned as a protégé of Hallé.