PRINCE Joseph Poniatowski. Miniature according to Grassi.

PRINCE Joseph Poniatowski. Miniature according to Grassi.

Gouache on ivory, signed Isabey. (1st half of 19th c.). Dimension in clear frame: 8 x 6 cm (in metal frame behind glass: 11 x 9 cm).
Prince Joseph Poniatowski in general's uniform with decorations and ribbons, Order of Virtuti Militari, Order and Star of the Legion of Honor. The miniature was made by Jean-Baptiste Isabey (1767 - 1855), a French painter and illustrator, based on a portrait by Joseph Grassi (1757 - 1838), an Austrian painter and portraitist.

Jean-Baptiste Isabey (1767-1855) - French painter, miniaturist and draughtsman, one of the most prominent portraitists of the Napoleonic era. He trained with Jacques-Louis David and quickly gained recognition as a creator of portrait miniatures. He worked for the court of Napoleon Bonaparte and subsequent French rulers, documenting the political and artistic elite of his time. He specialized in precise, elegant miniatures and ceremonial scenes (such as the Congress of Vienna), combining classicism with great observational sensitivity. He is considered one of the most important miniaturists of the late 18th and early 19th centuries. Joseph Grassi (1757-1838) - Austrian portrait painter of the Classical period, working mainly in Central Europe. Born in Vienna, he was educated at the Academy of Fine Arts there. He became famous as a highly regarded portraitist of court elites and aristocracy. He worked in Dresden and Warsaw, among other places, where he created images of representatives of the highest social strata. His style combines features of classicism with elements of early romanticism - it is characterized by elegance, attention to detail and subtle rendering of the model's psychology. At the end of his life he returned to Vienna, where he died. He is regarded as one of the most important portraitists of his era in the Habsburg circle. 10495/1