522 - Benjamin DE ROLLAND (1777–1855)

Benjamin DE ROLLAND (1777–1855) Saint John the Baptist Oil on canvas Signed and dated 1819 at the bottom center Inscription on the back: “Emmanuel de Pinna” H_55 x W_46 cm In a 19th-century frame Benjamin de Rolland (or Rolland) was a French Neoclassical painter who specialized in portraiture and history painting. Born in Guadeloupe, he trained in Paris under Jean Simon Barthélémy before joining Jacques-Louis David’s studio. In the capital, he met Pierre Paul Prud’hon, Théodore Berthon, and Pierre Narcisse Guérin. In 1801, he exhibited for the first time at the Salon, and a few years later became a drawing instructor for the royal family of Naples. In 1817, he was appointed director of the Grenoble Museum, a position he held until his death. Our painting is likely the “Portrait of a Child in a Saint-Jean Outfit” presented at the 1819 Salon under number 981. That same year, he also exhibited portraits of two young men (No. 980) and “A Father Holding His Sick Child” (No. 982).