Self-Portrait
Both in his original self-portrait in the Louvre and in this miniature from the Tansey Collection young Aubry turns his face to the right whereas the upper part of his body is shown from the front. His fashionable curly hairstyle, his fleecy sideburns and the bright blue waistcoat show him as a self-confident young man who takes pride in his appearance. Aubry was probably inspired by the self-portrait of his teacher Isabey in the Wallace Collection when choosing his posture. 1 Aubry led two studios in Paris - one for ladies and one for gentlemen 2 - where his portrait of Baroness of Benoist and his self-portrait could be copied by the students. Therefore there are numerous imitations of both portraits. 3 This copy in the Tansey Collection is one of the best student works. However, the initials "J.A." do not correspond to any of Aubry's students known today. 4
1 Isabey's self-portrait was created at about the same time.
2 Gabet, 1831, p. 16.
3 A version by Goubert is in the Kern donation, Museum Briner und Kern, Winterthur; another by Mme Jaquotot, 1810, is in the Wallace Collection, London. An anonymous copy was sold at Sotheby's, Geneva, (May 15, 1986, no. 179, Collection E.P.S., attributed to Aubry). Another version was shown in the exhibition in Brussels in 1913 (board XXXVIII, no. 177). A small-format version is in the Musée Lorrain in Nancy.
4 Jeannerat (1957) read the initials "F.A." and attributed the miniature to Aubry. Jeannerat, 1957, p. 26.
