Lot 2086 Dα

The young man looks out towards the viewer in a confident pose. He wears a yellow jacket with decorative buttons on the sleeves, and beneath it a blue vest with a silver border. He rests his right hand on a hat placed in front of him. This is also embellished with decorative buttons and forms part of his livery. The unknown man is probably a servant (see exhibition catalogue "Le Musée Sentimentale de Prusse", 1981, p. 158). He must have enjoyed the particular favour of his patron, because individual portraits of people of colour were rare in the 18th century. During the Ancien Régime period, they were often portrayed as decorative, exotic accessories, for example in the role of cupbearer for their master or mistress. The picture thus bears witness to the enlightened attitude of the unknown patron, who was probably a member of the Saxon court.
Prof. Bösch-Supan cannot confirm the original attribution to the Frederician court painter Antoine Pesne (1683-1757) (as stated in written correspondence dated September 21st, 2023). However, the carved, period frame is probably Prussian (compare, for example, a Frederician frame, shown in: Serge Roche: Cadres français et étrangers du XVe siècle au XVIIIe siècle, Paris, 1931, plate 99).