Camille Silvy
1861, 21 July (probable date)
Eugène Lejeune

Carte de visite
Paul Frecker
This portrait of the French painter EugÞne Lejeune does not appear in the Silvy daybooks, although three others do, taken on 21 July 1861. Of these, two show the painter in the process of painting a portrait of Silvy; in the first, he has just started the portrait, and in the second, the portrait, which shows Silvy at half-length against a plain, dark background, holding a pair of white gloves, is almost finished.
 
The painted flat in this portrait, which depicts a ship's deck, appears rarely in the Silvy daybooks, in all less than fifteen times, and with only one other exception, the sitter is always a naval officer or naval cadet.
 
LL/12827