Painted in 1797, this half-length portrait depicts the 51-year-old French sculptor Philippe-Laurent Roland (1746–1816), an exact contemporary and longtime friend of the artist, François-André Vincent. Roland is shown from the side with his arm resting casually on the back of his chair and in his hand, he lightly grips an ebauchoir, a tool for working plaster sculpture. His well-worn jacket, waistcoat, and loose shirt with pleated frill, accessorized with the ebauchoir, subtly suggest his profession. Roland seems to look back at us confidently, but also as if he were in the middle of a conversation, his mouth slightly parted to reply. Roland’s eye contact and bemused facial expression suggests familiarity like he would have felt with his friend while he was being painted.
The 1790s, when this was painted, was a tumultuous time marked by the French Revolution; the king was overthrown and a republic was established, only for the country to fall under the rule of Emperor Napoleon Bonaparte (1769–1821) shortly after. Despite the political upheaval of this period when many people lost their status or lives, both of these artists managed to adapt and sustain their careers. They had previously been members of the Académie Royale—the premier arts institution that controlled exhibitions, teaching, and royal commissions in France—and became leaders when the Académie was transformed into the Institut de France, sponsored by the new government rather than the king. This portrait, exhibited publicly in 1798, affirmed that both artists still commanded an eminent place in the new political and cultural order.
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