René-Charles Dassy and His Brother Jean-Baptiste-Claude-Amédé Dassy

1850

Hippolyte Jean Flandrin

(French, 1809–1864)

Culture

France, 19th century

Medium

oil on canvas, original frame

Measurements

Framed: 173.5 x 134 x 14 cm (68 5/16 x 52 3/4 x 5 1/2 in.); Unframed: 133.4 x 92.7 cm (52 1/2 x 36 1/2 in.)

Credit Line

Leonard C. Hanna Jr. Fund 2000.17

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Location

219 19th Century European

Did You Know?

Thin walking sticks, like the one pictured here, were trendy accessories at the time.

Description

This double portrait depicts two brothers dressed in the height of fashion for the 1850s, clearly asserting their social status. Jean-Baptiste (left, age 23) carries gloves and a walking stick. René-Charles (right, age 25) wears an embroidered black velvet suit in the exotic à la grecque mode (in the Greek style) inspired by the Greek war of independence (1821–32). Flandrin represents the figures in an academic style emphasizing line over color, reflecting his training as a pupil of J. A. D. Ingres.