Aimable Desire Lansot (1799-1851)
c. 1850
Oil on canvas
| Creole Woman of Color Aimable Desire Lansot (1799-1851) c. 1850 Oil on canvas |
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| Born in France, Aimable
Desire Lansot arrived in New Orleans by May 1834 already
an accomplished portraitist and miniaturist. Initially,
he shared a studio on Royal Street in the Vieux Carre
with the prominent French artist Jean Joseph Vaudechamp.
To supplement his portrait business, Lansot opened an
evening drawing school specializing in the study of heads
and landscapes. He also advertised painting conservation
services. Like many New Orleans painters in the 1840s, Lansot practiced the novel photographic process of daguerreotypes. This new medium, with its ability to capture details and a heightened sense of reality at a low cost, became a popular alternative to portraiture. In Creole Woman of Color, Lansot rendered the earring of this unidentified woman in the detail manner for which he was noted. This character study reflects the influence of photograph particularly in the spontaneity of the pose. This portrait was previously in the collections of Dr. Isaac Monroe Cline and William E. Groves. |