Portret van Pierre Paul Prud'hon 1806 - 1874

This is Julien-Léopold Boilly’s portrait of Pierre Paul Prud’hon. The lithograph captures the French Romantic painter in profile. Boilly, working in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, navigated the shifting political landscapes of the French Revolution and the Napoleonic era. His portraits often reflect the social mores and the emerging bourgeois class of the time. Prud’hon, known for his allegorical paintings and sensual style, here appears contemplative and refined. What strikes me is how this simple profile manages to convey so much about the sitter’s character. It invites us to consider the gaze, and how the act of looking—or being looked at—shapes our understanding of identity. The Romantic era placed great emphasis on emotion and individualism, and while the print itself is understated, the very act of memorializing Prud’hon speaks to the cultural value placed on artistic genius. How do you think artists shape our collective memory and understanding of ourselves?