Portrait of Mlle. de Stael

Baron François-Xavier Fabre · c. 1810

Medium

Oil on canvas

Original size

Diam.: 7.5 cm (2 15/16 in.); Framed: Diam.: 11.8 cm (4 5/8 in.)

Currently held

Art Institute of Chicago

Movement

Neoclassicism

Portrait of Mlle. de Stael is a quietly commanding work — poised, intimate, and lit with the cool clarity that defines neoclassical portraiture at its most refined. François-Xavier Fabre trained under Jacques-Louis David in Paris before settling in Florence, where he became the preferred portraitist of French expatriates and European aristocracy. His technique draws directly from David's discipline: clean contours, restrained colour, and a psychological stillness that invites the viewer to linger rather than simply admire. What sets Fabre apart from his contemporaries is how he balances formal rigour with genuine warmth — his sitters never feel frozen, only composed. Fabre spent decades in Italy, eventually donating his personal art collection to his home city of Montpellier, which became the foundation of the Musée Fabre — one of France's most significant regional museums. This hand-painted oil reproduction faithfully renders the original's tonal subtlety and surface texture, giving you the depth and presence of the 1810 canvas in a format made to live in your home.