Jean Joseph Vaudechamp (French/Louisiana, 1790)

Jean Joseph Vaudechamp (French/Louisiana, 1790-1866) , "Portrait of Charles Victor Foulon, Notary (1805-1892)", 1834, oil on canvas, signed and dated upper right, 28 3/4 in. x 23 1/2 in., framed. Note: Jean-Joseph Vaudechamp, one of the premier portrait painters in early 19th century New Orleans, painted the prominent Creole families of the city between 1831 and 1839. Charles Victor Foulon (1805-1892), a native Frenchman who became an American citizen in 1829, was a notary in the city of New Orleans, where he lived on the corner of Orleans Avenue and Rampart Street with his wife, Marthe Eugenie Grandchamps, and their children, Alice, Eugene, Louise, and Emma. With connections to some of the most prestigious families in the city, it is no wonder Foulon had his portrait painted by Vaudechamp. Many important documents survive which were notarized by Foulon. His father-in-law, François Julien Grandchamps, was a prominent New Orleans pharmacist associated with Dr. Yves Lemonnier, whose portrait was painted by Louis Antoine Collas (French, 1775-1856, active New Orleans 1822-1829). Dr. Lemonnier, a New Orleans physician, owned the now famous "first skyscraper" of New Orleans, the three-story Maison Lemonnier at 640 Royal Street in the French Quarter. François Grandchamps' Pharmacy was located nearby at 501 Royal Street, and the painter John Vanderlyn rented the rooms above the pharmacy for his studio. This is an exceptionally debonair portrait of Mr. Foulon with his upswept coiffure and distinctive mustache and beard. Dressed in his finest garments, Foulon’s gaze meets the viewer’s in a proud and dignified manner. Documented Vaudechamp paintings such as this, with ancestral provenance and presented in the original frame, are rare to come to the market and provide a fascinating look into the history of New Orleans. Ref.: Rudolph, William Keyse. Vaudechamp in New Orleans. New Orleans: The Historic New Orleans Collection, 2007.