Jean-Baptiste Jacques Augustin

Lady in Blue Dress

Jean Baptiste Jacques Augustin had already worked as miniaturist under the Ancien Régime, but, like other artists at that time, did not reach the height of his late success until after the revolution. He became Imperial court painter under Napoleon and cabinet painter under Louis XVIII. In his workshop he had more than thirty students, most of whom adopted his painting technique and passed it on. This miniature painted around 1795 shows a young woman in a blue dress with a richly decorated belt. She is wearing a high, grey-powdered wig with a bright red ribbon. Her head is slightly turned upwards. The delicate modelling of her hair and dress and the exquisiteness of her lovely smiling face are typical characteristics of this great master and correspond to the classical fashion in France.