Portrait of J. J. Régis de Cambecérès 1780 - 1827

Jean-Baptiste-François Bosio made this portrait of J. J. Régis de Cambecérès with pen and brown ink, heightened with white, over a graphite underdrawing. Bosio’s choice of media speaks volumes. Instead of oil paint, which would have taken considerable time and technical skill to manipulate, he opted for the immediacy of ink on paper. This was a quicker, more direct way to capture the likeness of his sitter. The graphic quality of the line work gives the image a sense of efficiency, and the use of white heightening adds dimension without the labor-intensive process of layering paint. Consider, too, the association of ink with the act of writing, which was central to Cambecérès’s profession as a statesman and legal expert. In this way, Bosio’s artistic choices emphasize the value of efficient labor and its connection to the sitter’s own work. It reminds us that even in portraiture, the process of making contributes to our understanding of the subject.