Portrait bust of Robbé de Beauveset

This is a portrait of the poet Pierre-Honoré de Beauveset (1714-1792), who was fifty-one years old at the time. He is represented with great realism, as if in a photographic snapshot. The poet, turning his head with an alert gaze, is caught mid-expression, reflecting a direct and lifelike interpretation of a fleeting moment. Unlike the posed portraits that were common at the time, Lemoyne’s portraits have a unique theatrical quality. In the case of Robbé de Beauveset, Lemoyne managed to convey certain aspects of his character, notably his hauteur and sense of irony.
Lemoyne had a long and successful life. He concentrated not only on portraits but also on sculpted monuments, almost all of which were sadly destroyed during the French Revolution. Due to their smaller size, the busts fared better against iconoclastic vandalism. As Louis XV’s official sculptor between 1730 and 1773, Lemoyne produced between 130 and 170 busts of the King, at an average of three or four per year.