Portrait of a Man in a White Fur Coat

Joseph Ducreux was a portrait painter, pastelist and etcher from Lorraine who became a French national. He was a successful portraitist at the court of Louis XVI, worked in Austria and England and again in Paris during the later phase of the French Revolution. He was appointed premier peintre de la reine. He drew the last portrait of King Louis XVI before the king's execution. His less formal portraits reflect his fascination with extreme facial expressions and gestures and his interest in expanding the range of portraiture.