Portrait of a Man

About the Artwork

Although the size of this carefully worked crayon drawing is modest, it is actually much larger than a typical work by Jean-Baptiste Augustin. As a leading painter of ivory portrait miniatures in the late 18th and early 19th centuries, Augustin stood out because of the precision and naturalism of his style. Although the sitter in this drawing is no longer known, Augustin's naturalistic technique and the sitter's slight, easy smile encourage a familiar connection with the viewer.

Inscriptions

signed, lower left, in black crayon: Augustin.; by artist, lower right, in black crayon: 1800.

Exhibition history

French Master Drawings from the Collection of Muriel Butkin. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (August 26-October 28, 2001); Dahesh Museum of Art (February 19-May 18, 2002). Elegance and Intrigue: French Society in 18th-century Prints and Drawings. The Cleveland Museum of Art, Cleveland, OH (organizer) (July 16-November 6, 2016).

Quick Overview

Artist: Jean-Baptiste Jacques Augustin (French, 1759–1832)
Date: 1800
Medium: Black chalk with stumping heightened with white gouache on light brown wove paper
Dimensions: Sheet: 22.1 x 17.5 cm (8 11/16 x 6 7/8 in.); Image: 20.3 x 16 cm (8 x 6 5/16 in.)
Type: Drawing
Classification: Drawing
Department: Drawings
Credit line: Bequest of Muriel Butkin
Accession no.: 2008.406

Provenance

The Cleveland Museum of Art’s open-access data does not include an ownership history for this work. See the museum’s page for this work.

Data retrieved from the Cleveland Museum of Art on October 8, 2026. The museum may have updated its record since.