253 - Jean Joseph ANSIAUX (Liège, 1764 – Paris, 1840) Portrait said to be of Charles François Joseph Ferdinand Desoer Oil on canvas: H: 65 cm – W: 53 cm Signed and dated 1800 on the right (signature and date highlighted). Inscribed on the reverse. Bears an earlier attribution to Hennequin. Wood and gilded stucco frame from the Empire period

Jean Joseph ANSIAUX (Liège, 1764 – Paris, 1840) Portrait said to be of Charles François Joseph Ferdinand Desoer Oil on canvas: H: 65 cm – W: 53 cm Signed and dated 1800 on the right (signature and date highlighted). Inscribed on the reverse. Bears an earlier attribution to Hennequin. Wood and gilded stucco frame from the Empire period Charles François Joseph Ferdinand Desoer belonged to the Desoer dynasty of publishers and printers from Liège. Founded in 1750 by Jean François Joseph Desoer (1720–1797), who received the printing privilege for the *Gazette de Liège* in 1764, this printing house established itself as a leading institution in the region. His eldest son, Jacques- François (1748–1826), succeeded him. Charles-Joseph, the youngest son, accompanied the troops of the Liège National Army in 1790 as treasurer and paymaster. During the Empire, he became collector-general of the Ourthe department, and in 1813, he served briefly as mayor of Liège. Our subject, Charles François Joseph Ferdinand Desoer (1780– 1867), was the son of Charles-Joseph. Like his father, he became receiver-general of the Ourthe department. During the Kingdom of the Netherlands, he served as Treasury agent for the province of Liège. Finally, in 1848, he was elected as the Catholic representative for the district of Borgworm.