Joseph, Baron Ducreux (26 June 1735 – 24 July 1802) was a French noble,

portrait painter Portrait Painting is a genre in painting, where the intent is to represent a specific human subject. The term 'portrait painting' can also describe the actual painted portrait. Portraitists may create their work by commission, for public and pr ...

pastel A pastel () is an art medium in a variety of forms including a stick, a square a pebble or a pan of color; though other forms are possible; they consist of powdered pigment and a binder. The pigments used in pastels are similar to those use ...

ist,

miniaturist A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting, usually executed in gouache, watercolor, or enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illuminated manuscripts, and were popular among 16th-century eli ...

, and engraver, who was a successful portraitist at the court of

Louis XVI of France Louis XVI (''Louis-Auguste''; ; 23 August 175421 January 1793) was the last King of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. He was referred to as ''Citizen Louis Capet'' during the four months just before he was ...

, and resumed his career at the conclusion of the

French Revolution The French Revolution ( ) was a period of radical political and societal change in France that began with the Estates General of 1789 and ended with the formation of the French Consulate in November 1799. Many of its ideas are conside ...

. He was made a baron and ''premier peintre de la reine'' (First Painter to the Queen), and drew the last portrait ever made of Louis XVI before the king's execution. His less formal portraits reflect his fascination with

physiognomy Physiognomy (from the Greek , , meaning "nature", and , meaning "judge" or "interpreter") is the practice of assessing a person's character or personality from their outer appearance—especially the face. The term can also refer to the genera ...

and show an interest in expanding the range of facial expressions beyond those of conventional portraiture.

Life and career

Born in Nancy, Ducreux may have trained with his father, who was also a painter. When Ducreux went to Paris in 1760, he trained as the only student of the pastelist

Maurice Quentin de La Tour Maurice Quentin de La Tour (5 September 1704 – 17 February 1788) was a French Rococo portraitist who worked primarily with pastels. Among his most famous subjects were Voltaire, Rousseau, Louis XV and Madame de Pompadour. Biography Maurice ...

, who specialized in

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face and its expressions are predominant. The intent is to display the likeness, personality, and even the mood of the person. For this ...

ure. Jean-Baptiste Greuze was an important influence on Ducreux's oil technique. In 1769, Ducreux was sent to

Vienna en, Viennese , iso_code = AT-9 , registration_plate = W , postal_code_type = Postal code , postal_code = , timezone = CET , utc_offset = +1 , timezone_DST ...

in order to paint a miniature of

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette Josèphe Jeanne (; ; née Maria Antonia Josepha Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last queen of France before the French Revolution. She was born an archduchess of Austria, and was the penultimate child a ...

(shown left) before she left the city in 1770 and married

. Ducreux was made a

baron Baron is a rank of nobility or title of honour, often hereditary, in various European countries, either current or historical. The female equivalent is baroness. Typically, the title denotes an aristocrat who ranks higher than a lord or kn ...

and ''premier peintre de la reine'' (First Painter to the Queen) in rewards for his services. Ducreux was given this appointment by Marie-Antoinette even though he was not a member of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture, which had been founded in 1648. The academy was strictly hierarchical and the posts of ''first painter'', ''ordinary painter'' and ''inspector'' or ''inspector general of royal factories'' were customarily reserved for members of the academy. At the outbreak of the

, Ducreux traveled to London. There he drew the last portrait ever made of Louis XVI before the king's execution.

Jacques-Louis David Jacques-Louis David (; 30 August 1748 – 29 December 1825) was a French painter in the Neoclassical style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s, his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in taste away f ...

became one of Ducreux's associates when the latter returned to Paris in 1793. David helped Ducreux continue an official career. Ducreux's residence became an informal

salon Salon may refer to: Common meanings * Beauty salon, a venue for cosmetic treatments * French term for a drawing room, an architectural space in a home * Salon (gathering), a meeting for learning or enjoyment Arts and entertainment * Salon ( ...

for artists and musicians, who commissioned portraits from him. One of these musicians was his friend

Étienne Méhul Étienne Nicolas Méhul (; 16 November 1765 ~ 24 December 1817) was a French composer of the classical period. He was known as "the most important opera composer in France during the Revolution". He was also the first composer to be called a ...

, who is said to have based the main character of one of his

opera Opera is a form of theatre in which music is a fundamental component and dramatic roles are taken by singers. Such a "work" (the literal translation of the Italian word "opera") is typically a collaboration between a composer and a libr ...

s on Ducreux. Ducreux had several children. His eldest son Jules was a painter and infantry captain who died in the

Battle of Jemappes The Battle of Jemappes (6 November 1792) took place near the town of Jemappes in County of Hainaut, Hainaut, Austrian Netherlands (now Belgium), near Mons during the War of the First Coalition, part of the French Revolutionary Wars. One of th ...

; several of his paintings still exist. His other sons died young. His eldest daughter,

Rose-Adélaïde Ducreux Rose-Adélaïde Ducreux (1761 – July 26, 1802) was a French painter and musician, born in Paris. She was the eldest daughter of Joseph Ducreux, with whom she also studied. She showed her works at the Louvre Salons in 1791, 1793, 1795, 1798, and ...

, also became a painter, as it is said did his daughter Antoinette-Clémence.

Work

Ducreux specialized in portrait painting. He completed his early portraits in pastel, including those of connoisseurs Pierre-Jean Mariette, the Comte de Caylus and Ange-Laurent de la Live de July. These works may have been copies after De La Tour. Although Ducreux cataloged his works in list form from 1760 onward, he rarely signed his paintings. Thus, many of his works remain erroneously attributed to other artists. Other portraits by Ducreux include those of Pierre Choderlos de Laclos and Maria Theresa of Austria, as well as those mentioned above of Louis XVI and Marie Antoinette. Ducreux also made several well-known

self-portrait A self-portrait is a representation of an artist that is drawn, painted, photographed, or sculpted by that artist. Although self-portraits have been made since the earliest times, it is not until the Early Renaissance in the mid-15th century tha ...

s in the 1780s and 1790s, including one in 1783 in which he painted himself in the middle of a large yawn (the

Getty Center The Getty Center, in Los Angeles, California, is a campus of the Getty Museum and other programs of the Getty Trust. The $1.3 billion center opened to the public on December 16, 1997 and is well known for its architecture, gardens, and views overl ...

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). In another, ''Portrait de l'artiste sous les traits d'un moqueur'' (c. 1793,

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is the world's most-visited museum, and an historic landmark in Paris, France. It is the home of some of the best-known works of art, including the ''Mona Lisa'' and the '' Venus de Milo''. A central ...

), the artist guffaws and points at the viewer. With these self-portraits Ducreux attempted to break free from the constraints of traditional portraiture. His interest in

—the belief that a person's outer appearance, especially the shape and lines of their face, could reveal their inner character—influenced him in creating his warm and individualistic works. For example, his portrait ''Le Discret'' (c. 1790) depicts a man with a timorous facial expression requesting silence by pressing his finger against his mouth, gesturing by which he appears to be demanding discretion or prudence. Through unusual body language and physical appearances, these portraits parallel the vivacious tronies of

Dutch Golden Age painting Dutch Golden Age painting is the painting of the Dutch Golden Age, a period in Dutch history roughly spanning the 17th century, during and after the later part of the Eighty Years' War (1568–1648) for Dutch independence. The new Dutch Republ ...

and the "character heads" of contemporary

Austria Austria, , bar, Östareich officially the Republic of Austria, is a country in the southern part of Central Europe, lying in the Eastern Alps. It is a federation of nine states, one of which is the capital, Vienna, the most populous ...

n sculptor Franz Xaver Messerschmidt (1736–1783), some of whose busts were self-portraits with extreme expressions.

Internet meme

A reproduction of Ducreux's self-portrait ''Portrait de l'artiste sous les traits d'un moqueur'' became subject to internet popularity as part of an

internet meme An Internet meme, commonly known simply as a meme ( ), is an idea, behavior, style, or image that is spread via the Internet, often through social media platforms. What is considered a meme may vary across different communities on the Internet ...

in the late 2000s and early 2010s. In the meme, rap and

pop Pop or POP may refer to: Arts, entertainment, and media Music * Pop music, a musical genre Artists * POP, a Japanese idol group now known as Gang Parade * Pop!, a UK pop group * Pop! featuring Angie Hart, an Australian band Albums * ''Pop'' ( ...

song lyrics, common internet phrases, and similar tropes are paraphrased in verbose, stilted, or faux-archaic English and overlaid on top of the portrait to create an

image macro An image macro is a piece of digital media featuring a picture, or artwork, with some form of text superimposed. The text frequently appears at the top and bottom of the image. Image macros are one of the most common forms of internet memes, and ...

Gallery

File:Ducreux1.jpg, The reproduction of ''Portrait de l'artiste sous les traits d'un moqueur'' used in the internet meme File:Joseph Ducreux self-portrait.png, Self-portrait, c. 1791 File:Joseph Ducreux - Le Discret.jpg, ''Le Discret'', c. 1790 File:Ducreux-1.jpg, Etching by Ducreux, 1791 File:Joseph Ducreux Cadoudal.jpg, '' Georges Cadoudal'', 1800

References

External links