Portrait of Edward and Paul-Pierre Perrée de Villesteux 1834

Editor: Here we have Hippolyte Delaroche's portrait of Edward and Paul-Pierre Perrée de Villesteux. It’s a drawing and seems to focus so much on the ornate frame around the children. How do you read this image, thinking about the materials and the context of its creation? Curator: Notice the precision in the pencil work. It suggests a preparatory study for something larger, perhaps a print circulated among the elite. Delaroche was known for historical paintings reproduced widely. This drawing highlights the commodification of portraiture, making even personal images into marketable objects. Editor: So, the labor and materials were geared towards wider consumption? Curator: Precisely. The drawing itself might be less about individual likeness and more about social standing, considering how prints functioned as status symbols within a particular economic framework. It makes you think about labor, not only the artist’s, but also the papermakers! Editor: I didn't think of that! Thanks, I'm seeing this piece in a whole new light.