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| Musée Carnavalet Portrait, thought to be Joseph Le Bon, by Dominique Doncre Canvas on wood, 16.5cm x 13cm Inscription on the reverse reads "Portrait of Le Bon painted by Dominique Doncre" |
This plump affable figure is not how we imagine Joseph Le Bon, implacable Jacobin, confidant of Robespierre and cruel prosecutor of the Terror in the Nord and Pas-de-Calais. Maybe physionomy fails to reveal the soul. But men of the Revolution remade themselves in response to circumstances. In 1792, when this portrait was painted, Le Bon was still a constitutional priest, mayor of Arras or maybe departmental administrator; his career as member of the Convention and représentant-en-mission was still in the future and his capacity for violence latent.
This image, the only known portrait of Le Bon, was painted by local Arras artist Dominique Doncre and sold to the Carnavalet in 1884 as part of the collection Dancoisne, which also contained the contested early portrait of Robespierre. Victor Advielle confirms that this painting too belonged to the collector Auguste Demory. Perhaps he acquired it locally, for Le Bon's brother Léandre had lived in Arras throughout the Revolution. M. Advielle observes that the subject seems older than Le Bon's twenty-seven years, but the painting has written on the back, in a poor hand, "Joseph Lebon, painted by Do. Doncre" and "the features are certainly those of the Conventionnel". The lot originally included a silver medal and tricolour cockade habitually worn by Le Bon.
The Pas-de-Calais archives preserves a photograph of the portrait dated 1870, presumably contemporary with the photograph of Robespierre published by M. Paris.
M. Le Gentil in his biography of Dominique Doncre, published in 1868, has a nice little story of how the artist obtained a likeness of Le Bon, who consistently refused to pose for his portrait. Doncre was engaged on a commission for Demory, who was then administrator of the department (maybe not the same Demory as this was in 1792?), He was at the bottom of the garden in the Hôtel Demory creating an enormous "perspective" (presumably some sort of out-of-doors trompe l'oeil canvas, since we learn it was dismantled when the garden was sold). Le Bon happened at the same time to be attending a banquet which was laid out in the grande allée of the garden. Doncre seized the moment, surreptitiously roughed out a portrait on a torn-off bit of canvas, and finished it at leisure later in his studio.
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Joseph Lebon. Pen and ink
Archives du Pas-de-Calais.
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References
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http://www.archivespasdecalais.fr/Anniversaires/25-septembre-1765-naissance-de-Joseph-Lebon-depute-du-Pas-de-Calais-a-la-Convention-nationale
Archives of the Pas-de-Calais: sources on Le Bon
http://www.archivespasdecalais.fr/Activites-culturelles/Un-document-a-l-honneur/L-Ogre-et-la-Veuve/Etat-des-sources-sur-Joseph-Lebon
Victor Advielle, "Les portraits de Robespierre & de Lebon au Musée Carnavalet" La Revolution francaise, revue historique. p.823-4
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k116283k/texteBrut
C. Le Gentil, Dominique Doncre (1743-1820) [1868], p.31-2.
http://gallica.bnf.fr/ark:/12148/bpt6k63509435/f1.image
On the drawing in the Pas-de-Calais archives. THIS IS DEFINITELY NOT CONTEMPORARY. I find this portrait reproduced in Haureau, La Montagne (1834), which contains illustrations by Philippe Auguste Jeanron (1808-1877). Jeanron, who produced a whole series of extremely hostile portraits of Revolutionaries, is almost certainly the artist.
ReplyDeleteNot convinced at all about the identification of the Doncre painting: the man has grey (not powdered) hair. I suspect it may be father or uncle – which would explain claim about features.
ReplyDeleteHave to say am not convinced of the identity on the Doncre portrait. That's grey hair, not powdered. It looks like a much older man. If the name is right, I wonder if it could be an older member of the family, Le Bon père perhaps?
ReplyDeleteThe Doncre portrait has grey, not powdered hair, and definitely looks far too old. It resembles somewhat Boilly's portrait (later, so showing him older) of Ferdinand Dubois de Fosseux.
ReplyDeleteWhat made me suspicious re: the Doncre: the hair is shiny, which suggests to me it's naturally grey/white hair, not powdered (powdered hair tends to be more matte).
ReplyDelete