Le Discret, Joseph Ducreux

Artwork Overview

1735–1802
Le Discret, circa 1791
Where object was made: France
Material/technique: aluminum panel (transferred from canvas); oil
Dimensions:
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): oval 91.6 x 79.9 cm
Canvas/Support (Height x Width x Depth): 36 x 29 1/8 in
Frame Dimensions (Height x Width x Depth): 41 x 34 in
Credit line: Museum purchase through The Kansas University Endowment Association
Accession number: 1951.0074
Not on display

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Images

Label texts

Exhibition Label: "Corpus," Apr-2012, Kris Ercums By the time the French Revolution broke out in 1789, Joseph Ducreux already had a thriving portrait practice in Paris. In 1774 he had been appointed official court portraitist to Louis XVI and Marie-Antoinette. In the wake of the Revolution, he was forced to find new patrons and reinvent himself as a relevant figure in a vastly different political and cultural milieu. In this self-portrait, Le Discret (or The Silence), exhibited at the Paris Salon of 1791, the artist raises his finger to his pursed lips, urging the viewer to be silent. Apparently influenced by contemporary theories of physiognomy, he depicted himself in a range of exaggerated gestures and displaying various emotions and facial expressions. By showing himself yawning, laughing, crying, and pointing a mocking finger at the viewer, Ducreux engaged directly with his audience in a manner that was unusual for the time. Archive Label 2003: In 1791, as the Revolution continued to rampage through the streets of Paris, Louis XVI unsuccessfully attempted to flee France. Joseph Ducreux, court painter to the King and Queen of France, was also in danger of losing his head. Fearful for his life, the artist fled France on January 12. Ducreux emigrated to London and had hopes of gaining British patrons. However, Ducreux found little favor in England and returned to France on August 15. It is speculated that upon his return the only thing that kept him alive was his allegiance with revolutionary artist Jacques-Louis David. In works such as Le Discret (or The Silence) Ducreux deviated from his traditional role as court painter. He astonished his contemporaries by attempting to categorize and define the various expressions of human visage and personality. Although these works did not enjoy immediate success, they played an important role in the developing interest in physiognomic studies in eighteenth-century Europe.

Resources

Audio

Audio Tour – Bulldog Podcast
Audio Tour – Bulldog Podcast
I wonder who in particular he was silencing. His face shows an emotion of distress. Maybe he was speaking to those who did not choose a side in the French Revolution, for them to stay quiet as the title, Le Discret, really means “The Silence”. When the revolution began in 1789 Joseph Ducreux was the court painter to the King and Queen of France. As you could imagine, Ducreux was fearful of losing his life at this time of war and fled to London. There his painting modelled after contemporary theories of physiognomy were not as appreciated. So Ducreux bravely traveled back to France to paint facial features in the heat of the revolution once more. As you stare into the eyes and heart of the piece, it may bring a smile to your face, as it seems strange that a 1700s painter would create something so closely resembling the classic teenage pose of today, or a frown could arise. If you were in the intellectual aspect of the arts, you may think of the death and destruction of the great French Revolution. His green coat raises some eyebrows. As being the court painter to the King and Queen, he should not have any problem financially, yet he is wearing a very stressed green coat. His hair has greyed, as he was around the age of 60 at the time. Or maybe his hair color was from the stress of being under the control of the rulers of the land. Some say the longer you look into his eyes, the more silent you become. This has been Davis Reed with another Bulldog Podcast.
Hear a SWMS student's perspective.
Audio Tour – Bulldog Art Tour
Hear a SWMS student's perspective.
Audio Tour – Bulldog Art Tour
Hear a SWMS student's perspective.
Audio Tour – Bulldog Art Tour
Hear a SWMS student's perspective.
Audio Tour – Bulldog Art Tour
Secrets. Everyone has them. No matter how big or small, it’s a commonality between us all. At least, Joseph Ducreux (Day-crew) saw it that way, as shown in his self portrait Le Discret (Lay Diss-cray). But what was a painter during the reign Marie-Antoinette and King Louis the 16th trying to hide? Well that, my friend, is just another secret. We don’t know why Joseph is asking us to be quiet. We don’t know how major or minor of a transgression he may, or may not have committed. All we know is that he’s asking us to keep it a secret, regardless of the fact we don’t know what secret we’re keeping. But as you look further into the painting, you may realize that that isn’t the only discreet thing in it. Joseph, with his dull colored coat, just seems to blend into the background, almost as if he’s trying to disappear. The only colors that really catch your eye in Le Discret are Joseph’s head and hand. Everything else in this painting is discreet. But so are a lot of things in our world. This has been shown especially with the COVID-19 pandemic. For a while, it seemed like everyone was trying to keep everything secret, only sharing the information that they deemed essential. But, as we now have learned through seeing the effects, we can only truly thrive and make progress as a world if we share what we know, and work together to learn more. Once we overcome our instinct to keep secrets from others in the world, the possibilities of what we can achieve are greatly expanded. Of course, this isn’t true all the time. Sometimes, a secret is just a secret. So, although we may never know what secret Joseph is wanting us to keep, we don’t need to. Because then would he truly be keeping a secret? This has been Jake Loos with another bulldog audio tour.