Jean-Etienne Liotard was renowned during the eighteenth century for his exquisite portraits and works in pastel, not to mention his outlandish Oriental garb. He painted some of the most significant rulers and aristocrats of Europe, including several members of the British royal family. A peripatetic artist who worked in the Levant as well as major European capitals, Liotard was born in Geneva and studied in Paris before travelling to Italy and then on to Constantinople in the train of British aristocratic Grand Tourists. There he painted the local residents as well as the British community, and adopted the eccentric style of dress that, when he later visited London, caused him to become known as 'The Turk'. This volume illuminates the career of this remarkable but now little-known artist, showcasing a variety of his extraordinary works, including portraits, drawings and enamels.
An artist in the age of the Enlightenment / Christopher Baker -- Painting in dry-colours / William Hauptman -- Liotard and the medium of pastel / Neil Jeffares -- The beauty of the particular : dress in Liotard's images of women / Aileen Ribeiro -- Self-portraits and the artist's family / Duncan Bull -- Orientalism / Marc Fehlmann -- British royal and society portraits / William Hauptman -- Continental royal and society portraits / William Hauptman -- Still-life, trompe l'œil and genre painting / Maryanne Stevens