in white silk dress with triple frilled collar, pink bow at corsage. Large hat adorned with pink roses, foliage and white ribbon in her powdered upswept hair, dated 1783., gold frame, the reverse with foliate monogram LH on a pink ground Christie's London. A normal bid for this miniature, which carried a pre-sale estimate of between £ 3,000 to 5,000. Born in Avallon, Vestier went to Paris in 1760 and was the pupil of the enameller A. reverand whose daughter he married the same year. After staying for a time in Holland and in London in 1776, he exhibited at the Salon de la Correspondance in 1782 and became in 1785 an associate of the Académie Royale before making his debut at the Salon du Louvre the same year. The following year, he became a member of the Academy and painter to the King in 1788. Considered as one of the best French miniaturists of the 18th Century, he also painted oils. His works much resemble those of P.A Hall but he had not the spirit of the latter and his works appear much colder with a preponderance of greenish tones. |