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François Tronchin
About the Artwork
This pastel drawing depicts François Tronchin, a prominent figure in his native Geneva and an impassioned patron of the arts. The table before Tronchin features a book, mathematical instruments, and papers that indicate his interests in architecture and music. Rembrandt's Lady in Bed, a painting that the Dutch master created around 1645 (today in the collection of the Scottish National Gallery) and the most highly prized painting in Tronchin's collection, rests on an easel nearby. Liotard considered the portrait of Tronchin among his finest works, and the meticulous rendering of the sitter's powdered wig, transparent flesh, and lace cuffs suggest the skill he had developed in pastel at this time.
Inscriptions
signed and dated, in black crayon, at lower right: par. J.E. Liotard / 1757; on verso, in red: TH / 51; mark of the Tronchin family
Provenance
1757-1798: François Tronchin [1704-1798], Geneva, by descent to Jean-Louis Robert Tronchin 1798-?: Jean-Louis Robert Tronchin [1763- ?], Geneva, by descent to Armand Henri Tronchin ?-after 1865: Armand Henri Tronchin [1794-1865], Bessinge, Sweden, by descent to Louis-Rémy-Nosky Tronchin after 1865-after 1873: Louis-Rémy-Nosky Tronchin [1825-1873], Geneva, by descent to Henry Tonchin after 1873-after 1891: Henry Tronchin [1853-1891], by descent to Robert Tronchin by 1925-by 1948: Robert Tronchin [1883-?], by descent to Christiane Tronchin, Marquise de Hillerin, Paris by 1948-1950: Christiane Tronchin, Marquise de Hillerin, Paris, sold as part of the Tronchin collcetion to Xavier Givaudan 1950-by 1973: Xavier Givaudan, Geneva, by descent to André Givaudan by 1973-after 1974: André Givaudan, Geneva after 1974-1978: (Léon Givaudan, Paris, sold to the Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH) 1978-: Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH
Exhibition history
Year in Review: 1978. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (February 13-March 18, 1979). Portraiture: The Image of the Individual. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (November 22, 1983-January 22, 1984). Master Drawings from the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 27-October 17, 2000). Treasures on Paper from the Collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (March 9-June 8, 2014). Imagination in the Age of Reason. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (September 28, 2024-March 2, 2025).
Quick Overview
- Artist
- Jean-Etienne Liotard (Swiss, 1702–1789)
- Date
- 1757
- Medium
- pastel on parchment
- Dimensions
- Unframed: 38 x 46.3 cm (14 15/16 x 18 1/4 in.)
- Type
- Drawing
- Classification
- Drawing
- Department
- Drawings
- Credit line
- John L. Severance Fund
- Accession no.
- 1978.54
More by Jean-Étienne Liotard in museum collections
Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.
Open-access museum record · AT-00010972
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