Portrait of a Young Artist

Alexandre Cabanel painted the intimate portrait in 1842, when he was just nineteen years old and studying at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. The small oil on canvas measures only 41.3 by 33 centimeters, yet captures the confident gaze of a fellow young artist with striking psychological depth.

Cabanel would later become one of the most celebrated academic painters of the Second Empire, favored by Napoleon III and known for his idealized mythological scenes. But this early work reveals his talent for capturing individual character before he turned to grander subjects. The painting exemplifies the Academic style that dominated French painting throughout the nineteenth century.

The portrait remains in a private collection. It offers a glimpse into Cabanel's formative years, showing the technical skill that would earn him the Prix de Rome in 1845 and establish his reputation as one of France's leading portrait and history painters.