Baron Paul Pérignon

Description

March 28 2009
Couture had a remarkable gift of observation and an ability to capture the convincing likeness and character of his sitters. His technical ability is equally evident in the subtly nuanced and finely modeled rendering of Baron Pierre Paul Désiré François Pérignon (1800–1855), a successful Parisian lawyer and politician noted for his liberal views. Perignon’s somber features and averted gaze, along with the scarlet ribbon of the Legion of Honor, bright against his dark lapel, seem to signal the reticence and elegance of the Baron’s character and serve as markers of his social distinction. Couture’s use of thin layers of pigment, which allows the texture of the canvas to come through, contrasts with the rich impasto—a thick buildup of paint in which brush or palette knife marks often remain visible—used to convey flesh tones, and gives the painting an expressive quality that contributes to its immediacy. While not an official portrait—and thus not meant to hang in a public place—the Baron is presented quite formally, wearing the stoic and reserved expression of his “social mask” rather than the relaxed, jovial expression of a more personal portrait.