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This highly qualitative oil on cardboard miniature, depicting a colonel of the French 15th Regiment of Dragoons from the period of Consulate (1799-1804) seems to be an original and very rare work of well-known Italian miniaturist Francesco Emanuele Scotto. Our additional images convincingly confirm this attribution! 

In these works, as well as in our portrait, the artist echoes his great predecessor, the English 18th-century painter Thomas Gainsborough.

In the aforementioned period, the commander of the 15th Dragoons Nicolas Martin Barthélemy was one of the most renowned soldiers of the Napoleonic wars.

Nicolas Martin Barthélemy was born on 7 February 1765 in Gray, Haute-Saóne and died on 25 April 1835, bearing the rank of a "marechal de camp" (general). His military career began in 1781. In 1792 he became a marechal-des-logis (sergeant) and in 1793 a lieutenant. In 1792 he served in the Army of the North, and from 1793 was in the Army of the Coast. We find him in Italy, where he served until 1798. In March of 1796 he was raised to captain, then one year long was a chef d'escadron of General Bonaparte's Guides. In 1797 he was already a commander of 23rd Regiment of Chasseurs-a-Cheval and with this unit took part in the battle of Lavidina where was wounded. On 21 June 1799 he was raised to chef de brigade (colonel) and received under his command the 15th Dragoon Regiment (our portrait shows him in this function!) . He was in Egypt and fighted at Mont-Tabor. In 1801 he came back and served in the Grande Armée, fighted at Austerlitz and Pultusk. On 26 December 1806 he was wounded again. On 4th April of 1807 he was raised to brigadier-general. In 1808-1810 he fighted in Spain.

Nicolas Martin Barthélemy was awarded with the Chevalier-Cross of the Legion d'Honneur on 14th June 1804; on 12 January 1807 he received his Commandeur-Cross of this order. On 5th October 1808 Napoleon ennobled him to Baron of Empire. On 19 July 1814 (begin of Restoration) he was awarded with the Order of Saint-Louis. Our portrait shows him (as mentioned above) as already colonel of 15th Dragoons but still without Cross of Legion d'Honneur what provides a date of painting: between 21 June 1799 and 14 June 1804.

Francesco Emanuele Scotto (Scotti) was born in 1747 in Genoa and died in the same town in 1826. He studied at the Genoese Academy Ligustica, where his teacher was Carlo Giuseppe Ratti.

In 1780 Scotto was appointed "Accademico di merito" for his painting "Erminia". Shortly thereafter he moved to Rome and studied there for some time under Vangelisti. Having returned to his native Genoa, he mostly devoted himself to portrait painting, as well as painting of miniatures for snuff tobacco boxes (the latter craft helped him finance his existence, while he was still in Rome).

In the Revolution period (around 1800) Scotto started a professorship at the Academy Ligustica. In 1824-1826 he was there "Dirretore della scuola di pittura" (in 1825 he was also appointed "Dirretore della Scuola di intaglio"). Furthermore, he was a very good engraver.

Works of Francesco Emanuele Scotto can be viewed (among others) in Annunziata Church and Academia Ligustica (both in Genoa).

Condition: good

Creation Year: 1799/1804

Measurements: UNFRAMED: 17,3x11,2cm/6,8x4,4in FRAMED: 28,4x22,4cm/11,2x8,8in

Object Type:  Framed miniature

Style: Portrait Miniatures

Technique: oil on cardboard

Inscription: -