Antiques, Collectibles and Fine Art Auction
Lot 38:
De Mons (French, active c.1780–1815), Portrait Miniature of Mme de Saint-Aubin
Description
A finely executed French neoclassical portrait miniature depicting Mme de Saint-Aubin, painted in gouache and signed by De Mons. Presented in an ornate 19th-century gilt Rococo Revival frame, the work exemplifies the refined elegance of late 18th-century French miniature painting.
Details
Artist: De Mons (French, active c. 1780–1815)
Title / Subject: Portrait Miniature of Mme de Saint-Aubin
Date / Period: ca. 1790–1810
Medium: Gouache
Image Dimensions: 6.6 × 9.5 cm
Frame: Ornate 19th-century gilt Rococo Revival frame
Overall Dimensions: 28 × 32 cm
Signature: Signed lower left De Mons
Inscriptions / Labels: Old handwritten label on reverse identifying the sitter as Mme de St Aubin
Provenance: Private collection, Évenos, France
Condition: Vertical age lines to the ivory; scattered surface abrasions and pigment losses, most notably in the bodice area. The frame is later with light wear. The image remains stable, legible, and visually appealing.
THIS ITEM CANNOT BE SHIPPED OUTSIDE OF CANADA
Catalogue Note
De Mons was an accomplished French miniaturist active during the late 18th and early 19th centuries, producing refined portrait miniatures for aristocratic and upper-bourgeois patrons during the transitional years between the Ancien Régime and the Napoleonic era. His works are distinguished by pale, harmonious palettes, soft facial modeling, warm contour lines, and discreet cursive signatures placed along the lower edge of the composition.
The present miniature depicts Madame de Saint-Aubin seated before draped fabric, rendered with the delicate tonal transitions and composed neoclassical elegance characteristic of De Mons’s hand.
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