Portrait of De Larive 1785

Curator: This work, residing here at the Metropolitan Museum, is Augustin de Saint-Aubin's "Portrait of De Larive," crafted around 1785. It's an engraving, etching, and print depicting its subject in profile. Editor: Hmm, it has this austere elegance, doesn’t it? All that gray makes me feel like I'm looking at a faded memory. The tiny lettering at the bottom, all so precise...gives it this intellectual coolness. Curator: Absolutely. The context is crucial here. This piece emerges from a period of shifting social structures in France. Representing De Larive, a noted actor, points towards the increasing celebrity culture of the time. His profession is, in essence, being legitimized. Editor: Yes, the way he’s framed like a medal, almost, as if for valor, yet with those frilly curls…It's like a paradox, isn’t it? How does this very formal presentation fit a person whose job it is to be emotive? Curator: Exactly. We can think of it through the lens of performativity and the construction of identity. De Larive’s 'virtuous citizen' persona is crafted not just on stage, but also through these very deliberate representational strategies in print culture. It mirrors how the elite used portraiture to convey status. Editor: Which makes you think—was this a commissioned piece meant to control the image of the actor and assert that refined role, in an era on the cusp of revolution? Curator: It’s very possible. Examining prints like this is essential for understanding how power and persona were negotiated and disseminated. The piece also gives us an important intersectional perspective regarding artistic innovation through intaglio alongside emergent celebrity culture. Editor: All that detail… Makes you want to know what De Larive himself would think of all these layered meanings. Would he be amused, annoyed, completely baffled? I love thinking about those sorts of conversations that never quite happened. Curator: That interplay, the lived experience of both artist and subject interacting with a broader cultural narrative—is a rich point of reflection, reminding us that our perspectives continually shape art. Editor: So, looking at it now, knowing a little bit more of the background, the faded gray is alive and full of those ghostly echoes from the past...and it really invites a closer look.