Portret van Bernard-Charles Bastide Gramont 1818

Jean Pierre Sudre created this lithograph portrait of Bernard-Charles Bastide Gramont, a work now held in the Rijksmuseum collection. Lithography was then a relatively new medium, pioneered by figures like Godefroy Engelmann, whose name appears on the print, suggesting he was involved in its production. The portrait is framed within an oval, a formal convention harking back to earlier modes of portraiture. But lithography itself democratized image-making; it was far more accessible than traditional engraving. This print reflects shifts in French society, as the era of aristocratic patronage gave way to a burgeoning middle class with new appetites for art and self-representation. To understand this portrait fully, we would need to delve into the archives and libraries of the period. Researching the sitter and the artist, to uncover their place in the social and artistic networks of their time. Art is never made in a vacuum; it always exists within a context that the historian can help illuminate.