Saint Bruno. 1764

Jean-Bernard Restout

1732 – Paris – 1796

Etching. Size of sheet: 25.7 x 28.4 cm. Le Blanc III, p. 321, no. 3; Nagler 14, p. 328, no. 3.

Provenance: Ex-collection Robert Dumesnil, (Lugt 2200).

Very fine and rich impression of the only state with small margins around the borderline.

As the inscription reads this print was made during the last year of Restout’s stay at the French Academy in Rome. On Restout’s return to France from Italy in 1765 he was accepted into the Académie Royale, although he refused to follow their rules, which led to copious arguments between Restout and the authorities. At the outbreak of the Revolution he was president of the Commune des Arts which, with its founder Jacques-Louis David, campaigned to suppress the Académie.

A rare example of the work of this French peintre-graveur.

Bought by a museum, Northern America.