Portret van Philippe Cayeux 1760

Louis Simon Lempereur made this print of Philippe Cayeux at an unknown date. It is a product of its time, speaking to the social structures of 18th-century France. The print presents Cayeux in profile, framed within an oval cartouche, an artistic device that evokes classical antiquity and lends the portrait an air of timelessness and authority. He wears a powdered wig, a marker of status and belonging to the upper echelons of society. As you can see, the engraver’s skill in rendering details such as the texture of the wig and the fabric of Cayeux’s coat, speaks to the technical expertise valued by the institutions that trained and patronized artists like Lempereur. The inscription identifies Lempereur as "Graveur du Roi," or Engraver to the King, an official title indicating his position within the French court. The image serves as a historical record, a visual artifact that invites us to consider the individual within the broader context of his time. Art historians consult a range of resources—from archival documents to studies of costume and social customs—to reconstruct the world that shaped both the artist and his subject.