Portrait of a Child, french school circe 1820

Attributed to Louis Hersent (Paris 1777 – 1860 Paris)
Portrait of a Child, sitting on a Stool

Oil on canvas, 89 x 72 cm

Contained in a giltwood frame of Neoclassical design, outer dimensions 105.5 x 88.5 cm

Provenance: private collection, The Netherlands

A charming portrait of a child of around three years of age, sitting on a stool covered in blue fabric. The child is depicted in an interior with an Oriental carpet on the floor, sitting beside a basket filled with flowers. The work probably dates to around 1810-1820.

This painting is attributed to Louis Hersent (Paris 1777 – 1860 Paris). He became a pupil of Jacques-Louis David and obtained the Prix de Rome in 1797. In 1821 he married the painter Louise-Marie-Jeanne Mauduit-Hersent (1784-1862) – due to the similarity of their names their works are sometimes confused.

The present charming painting can for instance be compared to Hersent’s portrait of the infant Henri d’Artois (1820–1883), Comte de Chambord, Duc de Bordeaux in his cradle, together with his sister Louise-Marie-Thérèse, preserved in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (see fig.).

Good condition for the age, some craquelure and a few very minor damages to the paint surface, in the frame some old inactive woodworm holes.