Pierre Chasselat

The miniaturist, Pierre Chasselat, studied under Joseph-Marie Vien. He exhibited genre and portrait miniatures at the Paris Salon and was bestowed with the fine-sounding title of peintre en miniature des Mesdames de France. Chasselat’s small-format portraits are remarkable for their great technical virtuosity and subtly employed multi-coloured chalk technique. The artist achieves an intense pictorial presence and subtle characterisation in a very small format. Graceful women of this kind are still fully in accord with the taste of the Ancien régime.

The pretty young lady looks upwards, lost in thought as if she were dreaming. Her very vivid complexion is rendered with great mastery. Subtle white heightening underlines the impression of the soft, warmly pulsating skin, while the finest of stippling creates a differentiated chiaroscuro effect. Her full, luxuriant hair, pinned together into an elaborate hairstyle, is equally concentrated in character. The pink bow and the hair ribbons at the back of her head add appealingly colourful accents. This is a precious little gem characteristic of late 18th century French draughtmanship. The drawing still has the original mount drawn by the artist.