DAVID, Jacques-Louis
(b. 1748, Paris, d. 1825, Bruxelles)

Portrait of Marie-Françoise Buron

c. 1769
Oil on canvas, 66 x 54 cm
Musée National des Beaux-Arts, Algiers

As with many other young artists, David used his close relatives as models for his first portraits. As well as his uncle Buron, he also painted his aunt, Marie-Josephe, and her daughter, Marie-Françoise, who had supported his wish to become a painter. Both paintings show a directness of approach and a sympathetic contact between artist and sitter that anticipate David's later successes in portraiture.