Michel Angelique Brouard

Art Historical Context

This 1809 print by Charles Balthazar Julien Févret de Saint-Mémin portrays Michel Angelique Brouard, a naval officer distinguished by the epaulet on his uniform. Saint-Mémin, a French émigré artist active in the early American republic, specialized in portrait prints that captured the likenesses of military and political figures during a formative period in U.S. history. The work belongs to the Smithsonian’s National Portrait Gallery collection, gifted by Mr. and Mrs. Paul Mellon, and reflects the era’s interest in documenting naval leaders through accessible printed media. Saint-Mémin’s prints often combined mechanical tracing methods with engraving, allowing for precise profile views that emphasized status and character. Brouard’s depiction, marked by its formal military attire, offers a glimpse into the transatlantic connections between French and American naval traditions around the time of the Napoleonic Wars and the young U.S. Navy’s development. As a classified print in the Smithsonian American Art Museum, it serves as both a personal record and a cultural artifact of early 19th-century identity and service.