François Dumont (; 7 January 1751 – 27 August 1831) was a French painter of

portrait miniature A portrait miniature is a miniature portrait painting from Renaissance art, usually executed in gouache, Watercolor painting, watercolor, or Vitreous enamel, enamel. Portrait miniatures developed out of the techniques of the miniatures in illumin ...

s. Dumont was born at

Lunéville Lunéville ( ; German : ''Lünstadt'' ; Lorrain: ''Leneinvile'') is a commune in the northeastern French department of Meurthe-et-Moselle. It is a subprefecture of the department and lies on the river Meurthe at its confluence with the Ve ...

( Meurthe), and was left an orphan when young, with five brothers and sisters to support. He was for a while a student under

Jean Girardet Jean Girardet (1709 – 28 September 1778) was a French portrait and mural painter. Biography Girardet was born at Lunéville. Before becoming a painter he was, successively, a seminarian, a law student, and a cavalry officer. After settli ...

, and then, on. the advice of a Lunville Academician, Madame Coster, set up a studio for himself. In 1784 he journeyed to

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

, returning after four years careful study, and in 1788 was accepted as an Academician and granted an apartment in the

Louvre The Louvre ( ), or the Louvre Museum ( ), is a national art museum in Paris, France, and one of the most famous museums in the world. It is located on the Rive Droite, Right Bank of the Seine in the city's 1st arrondissement of Paris, 1st arron ...

. He married Marie-Nicole, the daughter of Antoine Vestier, the miniature painter,Profile of Marie-Nicole Vestier
at the ''Dictionary of Pastellists Before 1800''. and had two sons, Aristide and Bias, both of whom became painters. Dumont was one of the three greatest miniature painters of France, painting portraits of

Louis XVI Louis XVI (Louis-Auguste; ; 23 August 1754 – 21 January 1793) was the last king of France before the fall of the monarchy during the French Revolution. The son of Louis, Dauphin of France (1729–1765), Louis, Dauphin of France (son and heir- ...

Marie Antoinette Marie Antoinette (; ; Maria Antonia Josefa Johanna; 2 November 1755 – 16 October 1793) was the last List of French royal consorts, queen of France before the French Revolution and the establishment of the French First Republic. She was the ...

Louis XVIII Louis XVIII (Louis Stanislas Xavier; 17 November 1755 – 16 September 1824), known as the Desired (), was King of France from 1814 to 1824, except for a brief interruption during the Hundred Days in 1815. Before his reign, he spent 23 y ...

and

Charles X Charles X may refer to: * Charles X of France (1757–1836) * Charles X Gustav (1622–1660), King of Sweden * Charles, Cardinal de Bourbon (1523–1590), recognized as Charles X of France but renounced the royal title See also * * King Charle ...

, and of almost all the important persons of his day. His own portrait was engraved both by Francis Audouin and by

Jean-Charles Tardieu Jean-Charles Tardieu, also called "Tardieu-Cochin" (3 September 1765 – 3 April 1830) was a successful French painter during the ages of Napoleon and of the Bourbon Restoration in France, Bourbon Restoration. His work was primarily historical, ...

. He resided most of his life in Paris, where he died on 27 August 1831. A younger brother, Tony Dumont, was also a miniature painter, a pupil of his brother, a frequent exhibitor and the recipient of a medal from the Academy in 1810. Each artist signed with the surname only, and there is some controversy concerning the attribution to each artist of his own work. Tony was an expert

violin The violin, sometimes referred to as a fiddle, is a wooden chordophone, and is the smallest, and thus highest-pitched instrument (soprano) in regular use in the violin family. Smaller violin-type instruments exist, including the violino picc ...

ist and delighted in painting portraits of persons who were playing upon the violin. Many of Dumont's finest paintings came into the collection of

J. P. Morgan John Pierpont Morgan Sr. (April 17, 1837 – March 31, 1913) was an American financier and investment banker who dominated corporate finance on Wall Street throughout the Gilded Age and Progressive Era. As the head of the banking firm that ...

, but others are in the Louvre, presented by the heir of Bias Dumont. The work of both painters is distinguished by breadth, precision and a charming scheme of coloring, and the unfinished works of the elder brother are amongst some of the most beautiful miniatures ever produced.

References

Sources

* *G. C. Williamson, ''The History of Portrait Miniatures'', London, 1904. *''Catalogue of the Collection of Miniatures of Mr J. Pierpont Morgan'', vol. iv. {{DEFAULTSORT:Dumont, Francois 1751 births 1831 deaths People from Lunéville 18th-century French painters French male painters 19th-century French painters French portrait miniaturists 19th-century French male artists 18th-century French male artists