Where can I see the portrait of Jean Le Rond d'Alembert?

This pastel portrait is displayed at the Louvre in Paris, France. You'll find it in the Sully wing, second floor, room 45, alongside other 18th-century French pastels.

Who was Jean Le Rond d'Alembert?

D'Alembert was a French mathematician and philosopher who co-edited the Encyclopédie with Denis Diderot. He contributed to physics and mathematics, joining the Academy of Sciences at just 24 years old.

What medium did La Tour use for this portrait?

Maurice Quentin de La Tour worked in pastel on grey and blue paper. He was considered the foremost pastel portraitist of 18th-century France.

When was this portrait created?

La Tour completed the portrait in 1753 and exhibited it at the Paris Salon that same year. It measured 550 by 458 millimeters (roughly 22 by 18 inches).

Where Is Jean Le Rond d'Alembert? See It at Louvre, Paris

Maurice Quentin de La Tour produced this pastel portrait of philosopher Jean Le Rond d'Alembert in 1753. The work shows d'Alembert with a lively, almost laughing expression, which was unusual for formal portraits of the period. Most portraits of intellectuals depicted them with stern, serious faces. La Tour chose to capture something different: the warmth and wit of his subject.

D'Alembert was one of the leading minds of the French Enlightenment. He co-edited the famous Encyclopédie with Denis Diderot and made significant contributions to mathematics and physics. At the time this portrait was made, he held memberships in the French Academy of Sciences, the Royal Society of London, and the Berlin Academy. La Tour exhibited the work at the Salon of 1753, where it drew considerable attention.

The artist worked from a preparatory study painted from life, now held at the Musée Antoine-Lécuyer in Saint-Quentin. For the finished version, he adjusted the direction of d'Alembert's gaze. The portrait remained in d'Alembert's possession until his death in 1783, when it passed to the philosopher Condorcet. Today it hangs in the Louvre in Paris, displayed in the Sully wing on the second floor.