Charles Willson Peale

Art Historical Context

This intimate 1807 print by French-born artist Charles B. J. Févret de Saint-Mémin captures the likeness of Charles Willson Peale, one of America’s most influential early painters and museum founders. Created through a combination of mezzotint and engraving on wove paper, the small circular image—measuring just over two inches across—reflects the refined portrait tradition that flourished in the young republic. Saint-Mémin, who arrived in the United States as a refugee from the French Revolution, specialized in profile portraits produced with the aid of a physiognotrace, a mechanical device that traced silhouettes for later engraving. The choice of mezzotint allowed Saint-Mémin to achieve rich, velvety tones and subtle gradations that lend depth and presence to the tiny format. Such prints were often mounted on colored paper and collected in albums, making fine likenesses of notable Americans accessible to a broader audience beyond the elite sitters themselves. Peale, depicted here at the height of his career, had already painted many of the nation’s founders and established the first public museum in Philadelphia. Today this delicate work, part of the Corcoran Collection at the National Gallery of Art, offers a window into the artistic networks of the early nineteenth century. It connects two men who helped shape American visual culture—one through painting and collecting, the other through the widespread dissemination of engraved portraits.

About the Artist

Charles B. J. Févret de Saint-Mémin · 1770–1852

**Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin** Born on March 12, 1770, in Dijon, France, to marquis Bénigne-Charles Févret de Saint-Mémin, a former conseiller au Parlement de Bourgogne, and Victoire-Marie de Motmans, a creole from Port-au-Prince, Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin received a military education at the École Militaire in Paris, graduating in 1785. He served as a cad...