JEAN-BAPTISTE MASSÉ (Paris, 1687-1767)

PRESUMED PORTRAIT OF MONSIEUR LENOBLE DEDICATED TO MONSIEUR Paris, 1741 or 1744 Sanguine drawing on paper Dedicated, signed and dated in trompe-l'oeil: "To Monsieur, Monsieur Lenoble, clerk to the Minister of Business at Versailles. I am with all my heart your good friend. Paris, 1741 [or 1744?] JB Massé" 38,5 x 30 cm (with frame: 70 x 61,5 cm visible by QR Code) Provenance Former Jean-François Baroni collection Private collection, Paris This portrait, presented in a pastel frame from the Louis XV period, shows Monsieur Lenoble being distracted in the middle of his writing. On a paper placed on the table, the artist has written his name, the place and the date. He signed his composition in the manner of the Renaissance painters who used to slip notes into their paintings. Jean-Baptiste Massé, who was trained in engraving by Louis de Châtillon and in painting by Jean Jouvenet, was admitted to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture on 3 July 1717. He is best known for his talent as a miniature painter, whose preciousness was emphasized by Cochin in his eulogy. The royal couple entrusted him with the realization of their official portraits to put on diplomatic presents. As for his sanguines, our artist offered them willingly. In fact, in 1755, he gave to the royal collections that would later become the Musée Napoléon and the Musée du Louvre, the "Portrait of a seated man holding a feather", which was said to have been inspired by a drawing by Charles Le Brun (fig. 1). In this Portrait of a Man, which is more recent than ours, we find the same way of representing his subjects, with an inspired air. Further information given by the collector is accessible by QR Code in the PDF.