Gentleman in a Brown Coat anda Patterned Waistcoat

Frédéric Dubois painted this portrait of a fashionable young man in the mid-1790s. Over a white waistcoat with blue embroidery, the sitter is wearing a brown coat with noticeably wide lapels and a high collar, which lends him a self-confident air. His necktie is tied in a bow at the front and decorated with fine blue stripes that match the blue on the waistcoat. On his shirt, he is wearing a tiepin with a blue locket bearing an illegible monogram. The gentleman’s hair is parted in the centre and falls to chin level at the sides. Like his bushy sideburns, his hair is powdered white. The colouring of the miniature is reduced to subdued brown and blue tones. Dubois modelled the face with diagonal parallel hatching. This technique could almost be considered a kind of trademark of this artist, and it allows even unsigned works to be attributed to him. 

Dubois’ miniatures exhibited in the Paris Salon were only very rarely reviewed by art critics. An anonymous comment on another of his works from the year 1796 has survived: “The pose is well chosen, but the colours would be censored … But no, take courage, Dubois! Your technique is promising …”.¹ 

B. P.