The Face of Paris

Achille Devéria (Paris, 1800–57) is today largely overlooked, but in the early nineteenth century he was one of the most distinctive and successful artists in Paris. A pioneer and master of the lithographic portrait, he was a confident, spontaneous draughtsman and a sensitive observer. He was celebrated for his ability to capture both a close physical likeness and the underlying character of his sitters in his portraits. From the 1820s through the 1830s the most notable social and cultural figures in Paris eagerly commissioned portraits by Devéria.

Devéria was at the center of a lively circle of Romantic artists that regularly met in his studio, and many appear as the subjects of his work. The Romantic movement developed as a response to what many artists and intellectuals felt was an over-rationalization of the world at the expense of beauty, free intellect and imagination. Romantics embraced the exotic and celebrated the ability to evoke an emotional response, be it in music, art or literature. Their idea was to follow inspiration, even if it went against social conventions.

Despite Devéria’s many successes and the acclaim he sustained during the 1830s, history did not treat him kindly. He was an exceptionally prolific professional illustrator who created over 3,000 lithographs during his career. His commercial aspirations stemmed from his having to support a large extended family, but many saw his enormous output as an indication of his prizing commercial gain over artistic integrity and Romantic ideals.

While critics often dismissed the bulk of his works as being purely market driven, they universally praised his portraits, especially those from the 1830s, as artistic masterpieces. Drawing from the Blanton’s own collection, this exhibition hopes to revive some interest in this under-recognized artist.