René Théodore Berthon (1776–1859) was a French painter of religious and historical subjects, and of portraits.

Life

Berthon was born at

Tours Tours ( , ) is one of the largest cities in the region of Centre-Val de Loire, France. It is the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Departments of France, department of Indre-et-Loire. The Communes of France, commune of Tours had 136,463 ...

in 1776, and studied under

David David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

. He painted scriptural and historical subjects, and a large number of portraits, which, although of no great merit, gained him a certain reputation in the days of the

first empire First Empire may refer to: * First British Empire, sometimes used to describe the British Empire between 1583 and 1783 * First Bulgarian Empire (680–1018) *First French Empire (1804–1814/1815) * First German Empire or "First Reich", sometimes u ...

and the

restoration Restoration is the act of restoring something to its original state and may refer to: * Conservation and restoration of cultural heritage ** Audio restoration ** Film restoration ** Image restoration ** Textile restoration * Restoration ecology ...

. Among his portraits are those of

Napoleon I Napoleon Bonaparte ; it, Napoleone Bonaparte, ; co, Napulione Buonaparte. (born Napoleone Buonaparte; 15 August 1769 – 5 May 1821), later known by his regnal name Napoleon I, was a French military commander and political leader who ...

when

First Consul The Consulate (french: Le Consulat) was the top-level Government of France from the fall of the Directory in the coup of 18 Brumaire on 10 November 1799 until the start of the Napoleonic Empire on 18 May 1804. By extension, the term ''The Co ...

Pauline Bonaparte Paula Maria Bonaparte Leclerc Borghese ( French: ''Pauline Marie Bonaparte''; 20 October 1780 – 9 June 1825), better known as Pauline Bonaparte, was an imperial French princess, the first sovereign Duchess of Guastalla, and the princess cons ...

, Mademoiselle Duchesnois, and

Lady Morgan Sydney, Lady Morgan (''née'' Owenson; 25 December 1781? – 14 April 1859), was an Irish novelist, best known for '' The Wild Irish Girl'' (1806)'','' a romantic, and some critics suggest, "proto-feminist", novel with political and patriotic o ...

. Several of his historical pictures are at

Versailles The Palace of Versailles ( ; french: Château de Versailles ) is a former royal residence built by King Louis XIV located in Versailles, about west of Paris, France. The palace is owned by the French Republic and since 1995 has been managed, u ...

. He died in Paris in 1859. His daughter, Sidonie Berthon, a miniature painter, was a pupil of her father and of Mme de Mirbel. She was born in Paris in 1817, and died in 1871. LadyMorgan

His son, George Théodore Berthon, was a portrait artist who emigrated to England and then to Canada.

References

Sources

* 18th-century French painters French male painters 19th-century French painters 1776 births 1859 deaths Artists from Tours, France Pupils of Jacques-Louis David 18th-century French male artists {{France-painter-18thC-stub