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The National Gallery is delighted to announce that it has acquired an exquisite portrait by the 18th-century French painter Henri-Pierre Danloux. The painting, entitled 'The Baron de Besenval in his Salon de Compagnie', which is in oil on canvas and measures 46.5 x 37 cm, was acquired from a London dealer. The cost to the Gallery was £1.5 million. It will go on display in the Gallery’s Room 33 from 9 December.
Painted in 1791, the portrait is of Baron de Besenval. He was commander-in-chief of France's Swiss Guards at the outset of the French Revolution during which he was briefly imprisoned. The work is a fine example of the draughtsmanship and harmonious colour for which Danloux was renowned. In this portrait, painted after Besenval's retirement from military service, the sitter is shown as the well-known art collector that he was, and his refined taste is matched by Danloux's technique and attention to detail. The painting of different fabrics and materials is done with consummate skill. Identifiable among the pictures shown on the wall behind Besenval are works by the Dutch painters Poelenburg, Van de Velde, Teniers, Pynacker and Cuyp. This portrait was painted when the sitter's world had been turned upside down, but his relaxed pose and genial smile suggest he is looking back to a more leisured, less turbulent time.
Danloux (1753 - 1809) worked mainly as a portraitist. After studying with the genre painter Nicolas-Bernard Lépicié, he joined the studio of the history painter Joseph-Marie Vien. In 1775 he followed Vien to Rome where he worked for 10 years before returning to Paris. In 1789 he was commissioned to make portraits of the French royal family and in 1791 he exhibited at the Paris Salon. A convinced royalist, Danloux emigrated to London in 1792. There he painted some British patrons, but most of his London sitters were French émigrés. He returned to Paris in 1801. Danloux's elegant style ensured him a substantial following in the aristocratic circles of Paris, Rome and London.
The painting is recorded as having formed part of Besenval's estate before entering various French private collections from 1805 to 1984. It was included in a major exhibition of French 18th-century paintings held in Ottawa, Washington and Berlin in 2003/4.
The portrait will complement other 18th-century narrative portraits in the National Gallery's collection, such as Drouais's 'Madame de Pompadour at her Tambour Frame' and Hogarth's 'The Graham Children'.
For further information or images please contact: Cathy Hinde, National Gallery Press Office on 020 7747 2512 or email: catherine.hinde@ng-london.org.uk
For Public Information please call 020 7747 2885 www.nationalgallery.org.uk
December 2004
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