The French Painter Claude Joseph Vernet

Claude Joseph Vernet, the celebrated French painter of sea-pieces, looks out with a vivid gaze and the suggestion of a secretive smile. Roslin painted him in 1767, among the first of his French colleagues in Paris — a calculated show of virtuosity by a newcomer who had to win the capital over. Alexander Roslin (1718–1793), born in Malmö, became one of the most sought-after portraitists in Europe, and his rendering of costume, flesh and expression is remarkable for its finesse. The critic Denis Diderot, for all its merits, delivered a notably harsh judgement of the picture. The canvas, 65 × 54 cm, is held by the Nationalmuseum, Stockholm.