Gentleman in an Olive Green Coat

The young gentleman wearing an olive green coat with a brown velvet collar probably ordered his portrait from Vincent Bertrand to give to his beloved as a gift. The sitter appears in front of a romantic cloud formation and fixes his seductively half-closed eyes on his fictitious observer. The artist emphasised the beau’s advantageous qualities by painting his dark curls as soft as silk and expanding the chest in keeping with the fashion of the time. His face shows the smoothness of youth, his nose and mouth are delicately drawn, and his eyebrows form regular arches above his eyes. Bertrand gave nature a helping hand here and there and indulged the sitter. He signed his name self-confidently in large, curved letters on the white background.
Today, Vincent Bertrand is a little known miniaturist. However, in his day, he was one of the most promising portrait painters. At the Paris Salon, his works drew positive comments.”[The miniatures] by M. Bertrand, are always well studied and carefully executed, possess lively colouring and appear charming and harmonious. The hair is painted with lightness, and all the accessories are rendered with energy and delicacy”, was how the French painter and art theoretician Charles-Paul Landon commented on Bertrand’s miniatures exhibited in 1810.¹
B. P.