Raymond-Jean-Baptiste de Verninac Saint-Maur
- Raymond-Jean-Baptiste de Verninac Saint-Maur
Frame: 14 9/16 × 12 5/8 × 1 in. (37 × 32 × 2.5 cm)
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This intensely engaging portrait would be compelling even if we didn’t know the sitter’s identity. It is even more so because its subject is Raymond Jean Baptiste de Verninac Saint-Maur (1796–1873), a naval officer and Minister of the Navy and Colonies in 1848. The inscription alludes to Verninac Saint-Maur’s role in overseeing the abolishment of slavery in the French colonies. While France had outlawed the slave trade, long centered in Senegal, in 1818, the institution of slavery itself remained legal until after the Revolution of 1848 and the Second Republic’s decree abolishing slavery on April 27, 1848.
ProvenanceRaymond-Jean-Baptiste de Verninac Saint-Maur; given to his daughter, January 1, 1859; [...]; [Silver Shadows, Huddersfield, England]; [Capitol Gallery, Morgantown, West Virginia, Fall 2024 Auction, October 2, 2024, lot 32]; purchased by MFAH, 2024.
Inscriptions, Signatures and Marks
Inscribed in ink on verso of frame seal: “Offert à sa fille Vilaine [?] // le 1 Janvier 1859 Canebes [?]” [Given to his daughter Vilaine [?], January 1, 1859, Canebes [?]”]
Cataloguing data may change with further research.
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