Hector Lemaire 

François Gérard painted this portrait of Hector Lemaire using oil on canvas. Oil paint is made by laboriously grinding pigment into linseed or walnut oil; the slow drying time allows for layers of carefully blended color. Look closely at the face and you’ll see how Gérard worked to achieve a delicate sense of volume. This was the established manner of painting in the period, yet there is nothing inevitable about the choice of materials. Gérard’s smooth brushwork is deceptive, because it belies the incredible amount of skill and time required to produce this sort of illusionistic image. The artist also has had to be schooled in the intellectual conventions of Neoclassicism, with its aspiration to an ideal of masculine beauty based on antique precedents. Ultimately, it is the combination of material, process, and social context that gives the work its full meaning. Only by considering all of these factors can we truly appreciate this painting as a cultural object, and not just a pretty picture.