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Portrait of Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier and his wife

 

 
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Portrait of Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier and his wife
 
 
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The Portrait of Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier and his wife is a double portrait of the French chemist Antoine Lavoisier
Antoine Lavoisier

Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier , the Fathers_of_scientific_fields#Chemistry, was a French people noble prominent in the histories of chemistry and biology....
 and his wife and collaborator Marie-Anne Pierrette Paulze
Marie-Anne Pierrette Paulze

Marie-Anne Pierette Paulze , was born in the town of Montbrison, in a small province in France. She is most commonly known as the wife of Antoine Lavoisier but many do not know of her accomplishments in the field of chemistry....
, commissioned from the French painter Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David

Jacques-Louis David was a highly influential France painter in the Neoclassicism style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in taste away from Rococo frivolity toward a classical austerity and severity, chiming with the moral climate of the final years of th...
 in 1788 by Marie-Anne (who had been taught drawing by David). It is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is an art museum located on the eastern edge of Central Park, along what is known as Museum Mile, New York City in New York City, USA....
 in New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
.

d was paid 7,000 livres for it on 16 December 1788 and the painting was left by Marie-Anne to her great-niece in 1836.






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The Portrait of Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier and his wife is a double portrait of the French chemist Antoine Lavoisier
Antoine Lavoisier

Antoine-Laurent de Lavoisier , the Fathers_of_scientific_fields#Chemistry, was a French people noble prominent in the histories of chemistry and biology....
 and his wife and collaborator Marie-Anne Pierrette Paulze
Marie-Anne Pierrette Paulze

Marie-Anne Pierette Paulze , was born in the town of Montbrison, in a small province in France. She is most commonly known as the wife of Antoine Lavoisier but many do not know of her accomplishments in the field of chemistry....
, commissioned from the French painter Jacques-Louis David
Jacques-Louis David

Jacques-Louis David was a highly influential France painter in the Neoclassicism style, considered to be the preeminent painter of the era. In the 1780s his cerebral brand of history painting marked a change in taste away from Rococo frivolity toward a classical austerity and severity, chiming with the moral climate of the final years of th...
 in 1788 by Marie-Anne (who had been taught drawing by David). It is now in the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art

The Metropolitan Museum of Art is an art museum located on the eastern edge of Central Park, along what is known as Museum Mile, New York City in New York City, USA....
 in New York
New York

The State of New York is a U.S. state in the Mid-Atlantic States and Northeastern United States regions of the United States and is the nation's List of U.S....
.

History

David was paid 7,000 livres for it on 16 December 1788 and the painting was left by Marie-Anne to her great-niece in 1836. It remained in the collection of the comtesse de Chazelles and her descendents until 1924, when it was bought by John Davison Rockefeller. Rockefeller gave it to the Rockefeller Institute for Medical Research
Rockefeller University

The Rockefeller University is a private university which focuses primarily on basic research in the biomedical fields and offers graduate and postgraduate education....
 in 1927, and it was acquired from this institution by the Metropolitan Museum in 1977.

Description

It shows the couple in his office, with a wood-panelled floor and walls of false marble with three classical pilasters. In the centre the couple face the viewer, with both their heads in three-quarters profile. Marie-Anne is shown standing in profile looking at the viewer. Her costume is that in fashion at the end of the 18th century - a white wig, a white dress with a lace collar and a blue fabric belt. She rests on her husband's shoudlder, with her right hand leaning on the table.

Antoine Lavoisier is seated, wearing a black vest, culottes
Culottes

The word culottes is of French language origin, and is the diminutive form of the word "cul," which means "backside," from the Latin "culus." Historically, the word "culottes" has always referred to the knee-breeches commonly worn by gentlemen of the European upper-classes from the late Middle Ages or Renaissance through the early 19th centur...
, stockings and buckled shoes, a white shirt, a white neckscarf and a powdered wig. His face turns towards his wife and he rests his left arm on the table, whilst writing with his right hand using a feather pen. The table is covered with a scarlet tablecloth, many papers, a casket, an inkwell with two more feather pens, a barometer
Barometer

A barometer is an instrument used to measure atmospheric pressure. It can measure the pressure exerted by the atmosphere by using water, air, or mercury ....
, a gasometer, a water still and a glass bell jar
Bell jar

A bell jar is a piece of laboratory glassware similar in shape to a bell . A bell jar is placed on a base which is vented to a hose fitting, which can be connected via a hose to a vacuum pump....
. A large round-bottom flask
Round-bottom flask

Round-bottom flasks are types of flasks having spherical bottoms used as laboratory glassware, mostly for chemistry or biochemistry work. They are typically made of glass for chemical inertness; and in modern days, they are usually made of heat-resistant borosilicate glass....
 and a tap are on the floor to the right, by the table. To the table's extreme left is a chair with a large document-case and black cloth on it.

The signature is bottom left, on the table - L DAVID, PARISIIS ANNO, 1788.

fr:Portrait d'Antoine-Laurent Lavoisier et de sa femme