Portrait of Francois Buron

French artist Jacques-Louis David painted this portrait of his uncle Francois Buron in 1769, one of his earliest known works. The oil on canvas measures 65 by 54 centimeters and shows Buron, an important eighteenth-century French civil servant, in a dignified pose.

David was only about twenty years old and still training when he painted this portrait. He would go on to become the leading figure of Neoclassicism, a movement emphasizing clarity, order, and harmony inspired by ancient Greek and Roman art. His later major works include "The Death of Marat" and "Napoleon Crossing the Alps."

The painting remained with Buron's descendants until 1903, passing through several sales before reaching a private collection in New York in 1985. This early work demonstrates David's natural gift for portraiture that he would develop alongside his grand historical compositions.