It is known that Favray, who while he was in Istanbul was in close contact with the French and Russian embassies, did many portraits of people connected to the embassies. He primarily worked under the patronage of French ambassadors and he has depicted the model for this painting in a pose and composition reminiscent of the portraits of the Vergennes Count and Countess, which are also in this exhibition. This portrait of a young man sitting on a Turkish rug and leaning against a cushion differs from the other Favray paintings in the exhibition, in the use of a landscape background.
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