Charles Victoire Frédéric MOENCH -(1784– 1867) - Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Isabey

Charles Victoire Frédéric MOENCH
(Paris, 1784–1867)
Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Isabey.
1808.
Oil on canvas.
Signed and dated “Munich fecit Roma 1808.”
H. 58; W. 47 cm.

This bust portrait, painted in Rome in 1808 by the artist Charles Moench, pronounced “Munich,” depicts Jean-Baptiste Isabey (1767-1855), a famous miniaturist, decorator, and official draftsman of the Empire. The composition, which is highly psychological, captures the model in three-quarter profile, his face framed by a spectacular collar that rises up to his ears. This sartorial detail, which was something of a signature for Isabey, recalls his membership of the circle of the Incroyables du Directoire and his marked taste for elegance and eccentricity.

Beneath an apparent sobriety, Charles Moench displays remarkable virtuosity: the precise rendering of the eyebrows, the attention to the irregularities of the skin, the dramatic tension of the light contrasts, and the intensity of the gaze give the portrait a realistic and expressive dimension. The influence of Girodet, Moench's master, is clearly evident, both in the dramatization of the scene, reflecting a romantic inflection, and in the refinement of the modeling.

The painting is signed on the back “C. Munich fecit,” the spelling adopted by the artist at the beginning of his career. He later opted for “C. Moench,” certainly to distinguish himself from his father, who was also an artist.

Charles Moench, a versatile painter in the service of power.
Born into a dynasty of artists, Charles Victoire Frédéric Moench, known as Munich, was born in Paris in 1764. His father, Simon-Frédéric Moench, was one of the most brilliant decorative painters of his time. Before the Revolution, he received numerous commissions for the Opera and large aristocratic residences, before becoming Napoleon's favorite ornamentalist during the Empire. From 1805 onwards, he was commissioned to carry out prestigious projects for Fontainebleau, the Tuileries, the Louvre and Saint-Cloud, assisted by his two sons, Charles Victoire Frédéric and Pierre Auguste [1].

However, Charles Moench quickly distinguished himself through his own career. After a trip to Italy, he exhibited The Sacrifice of Polyxena at the 1810 Salon, revealing his ambition to be a history painter. In 1817, he was awarded a second-class medal for his Boreas.

A student of Anne-Louis Girodet, he received a comprehensive education that led to him being commissioned for official works by Charles X, then becoming painter-decorator to the Duke of Orleans, the future Louis-Philippe. His talent was evident in large official decorations as well as in mythological subjects—such as Allegory of Aurora—and in portraiture, where he won the trust of personalities such as Alfred de Musset, who commissioned a full-length portrait.

Today, Charles Moench's decorations can still be admired at the Louvre Museum, in the Charles X Gallery (also known as the Clarac Room, located in the Egyptian Antiquities Department), as well as at the Château de Fontainebleau, in the Guard Room and the Diana Gallery.



Moench and Isabey: a fruitful collaboration
The ties between the Moench family and Isabey appear to have been close. In 1807, Isabey was appointed decorator of the Opera and court theaters, responsible for the stages at Fontainebleau, Compiègne, and the Tuileries [3]. The Moench family business, which had been involved in opera set design since 1803, continued its collaboration under Isabey's direction [4]. This close relationship extended to other projects, such as Voyages pittoresques et romantiques dans l'ancienne France (Picturesque and Romantic Journeys in Ancient France), in which Moench senior and Isabey collaborated, notably during a joint stay in Graville, Normandy.
Everything suggests that Isabey played a supporting role in the early career of his friend's son, as he was part of Girodet's close circle and a recognized figure in the art world. The portrait presented here, painted in 1808, appears to be a tribute to this model of success. His piercing gaze and the psychological depth that make this portrait so unique betray a certain closeness between the artist and his model. Isabey himself had depicted himself in caricature with this type of high collar, which was his stylistic signature, reinforcing the both worldly and personal dimension of the effigy.

A rarity in Moench's work
Portraits of the young Isabey remain rare. The most famous is the full-length portrait of him with his daughter, painted by his friend François Gérard. He was also depicted in Louis Léopold Boilly's composition Réunion d'artistes dans l'atelier d'Isabey (Artists' Gathering in Isabey's Studio), painted about ten years before our portrait, in 1798.
Moench's painting is therefore exceptional, both in its choice of subject and its pictorial quality. Today, Moench's works are rarely seen on the market, but his decorative paintings remain in the greatest French institutions, from the Louvre to Fontainebleau.
This rare and masterful portrait embodies both the talent of a painter who deserves to be studied in greater depth and the complex relationships between artists from the most prestigious studios in Paris during the 19th century.

References
[1] Vittet, J. (2021). Simon Frédéric Moench (1746-1837), Napoleon's painter and decorator. A Palace for the Emperor: Napoleon I at Fontainebleau [Exhibition, Château de Fontainebleau, Sept. 15, 2021-Jan. 3, 2022].
Paris: Réunion des musées Nationaux, p. 184.
[2] Nouvelle biographie générale: depuis les temps les plus reculés jusqu'á nos jours, avec les renseignements bibliographiques et l'indication des sources à consulter. (1861). Paris: Firmin Didot frères, fils et cie, p. 737.
[3] Dumoulin, M. (1909, December 26). J.B. Isabey. Paris: Le Temps.
[4] "Record of works of painting in decoration, carpentry, metalwork, & supply of canvas, for the theater of the Imperial & Royal Palace of the Tuileries, according to the orders of Monsieur de Rémurat, First Chamberlain & Superintendent of the Imperial & Royal Palaces, & executed according to the drawings of Monsieur Isabey, designer to the cabinet of His Imperial & Royal Majesty. By Moench, painter-decorator to His Majesty the Emperor & King, 21 Rue des Filles du Calvaire."
(Handwritten notebook, signed in Paris on December 19, 1808 by Isabey and on January 31, 1809 by the Advisory Committee on Crown Buildings).
[5] Nodier, C., Taylor, J., & De Cailleux, A. (1820). Picturesque and Romantic Journeys in Ancient France (Vol. 1), p. 130.