Lot 56: JEAN-BAPTISTE WEYLER (FRENCH, 1747-1791)

Henri-Louis Cain (1729-1778) in the role of the sultan Orosmane, holding a letter in his left hand, in embroidered gold robe, red jewel-set belt, ermine-trim silk robe, gold and white turban adorned with a string of pearls, black plumes set with jewels and ruby
enamel on copper
oval, 3 9/16 in. (91 mm.) high

J. Aronson and M. E. Wieseman, Perfect Likeness. European and American Portrait Miniatures from the Cincinnati Art Museum, New Haven/London, 2006, p. 317.

Palais Galliéra, Paris, 28 March 1963, lot 218 (as portrait of a Turkish lady).

Henri-Louis Cain, whose stage name was Lekain, was renown for his roles in tragic plays by Voltaire performed at the Comédie Française. In the present miniature he is depicted as the sultan Orosmane in Voltaire's Zaïre. The letter in his hand represents the note sent to the sultan's future bride, Zaïre, a Christian and former slave, from her brother, Nerestan. Opposing the marriage, Nerestan and his father arrange a secret baptism preventing the union of Zaïre and Orosmane and the details of the meeting are sent to Zaïre in a letter which is seized by the sultan. Orosmane, furious of the deceipt, stabs Zaïre to death and, unable to get over his own lack of faith and judgement of her, kills himself.
This enamel is taken after the large portrait by Simon Bernard Lenoir now in the collection of the Comédie Française, Paris. There is a large enamel version by Weyler in the Louvre, signed and dated 1782 (inv. RF30962) and a smaller part copy is signed but not dated (inv. RF30963), both formerly in the David-Weill collection. Another version was sold in the Clore Collection, part II, Sotheby's, London, 10 November 1986, lot 195. A further small version is in the Cincinnati Art Museum, inv. 1990.1616 (illustrated J. Aronson and M. E. Wieseman, op. cit, p. 316, no. 175).

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