Chevalier d'Eon
2 of 24 portraits of Chevalier d'Eon
© National Portrait Gallery, London
Chevalier d'Eon
by Pierre Adrien Le Beau, published by Esnauts et Rapilly, after Claude Louis Desrais
engraving, circa 1770 or after
7 1/4 in. x 5 in. (183 mm x 126 mm) plate size; 9 1/4 in. x 7 3/8 in. (236 mm x 186 mm) paper size
Purchased, 2021
Reference Collection
NPG D49409
On display in Room 11 on Floor 3 at the National Portrait Gallery
Sitterback to top
- Charles Geneviève Louis Auguste André Timothée d'Eon de Beaumont (1728-1810), Cross-dressing diplomat, soldier and celebrity fencer. Sitter in 24 portraits.
Artistsback to top
- Pierre Adrien Le Beau (1744 or 1748-circa 1817), Draftsman and engraver. Artist or producer associated with 3 portraits.
- Claude Louis Desrais (1746-1816), Painter and draughtsman. Artist or producer associated with 1 portrait.
- Esnauts et Rapilly (active 1766-1804), Publisher. Artist or producer associated with 6 portraits.
Subjects & Themesback to top
Events of 1770back to top
Current affairs
Augustus FitzRoy, 3rd Duke of Grafton resigns as Prime Minister and is succeeded by Frederick North, 2nd Earl of Guilford.Art and science
Oliver Goldsmith publishes his poem The Deserted Village.Philosopher and politician Edmund Burke publishes Thoughts on the Cause of the Present Discontents discussing the limits of the King's authority.
17-year-old Thomas Chatterton, later hailed as a significant poet, commits suicide in a London garret.
Thomas Gainsborough paints his portrait of Jonathan Buttall, which later becomes known as The Blue Boy.
International
'Townshend duties' on imports into the colonies are repealed, except for the duty on tea. However, this concession is soon followed by the Boston Massacre, in which British troops fire into an unruly crowd in Boston, killing five.Captain Cook reaches the eastern coast of Australia, at a place which he names Botany Bay. He discovers the Great Barrier Reef when HMS Endeavour runs onto it. Cook claims New South Wales for the British.
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