Physionotrace portrait of a gentleman, in the uniform of the Corps Legislatif with the Grand
Cross of the Order of Reunion
By Bouchardy, Paris
circa 1811-15.
Physionotrace, was invented by Gilles-Louis Chrétien in 1784 and is similar to a silhouette, in that the
physionotrace always shows a profile portrait. The Physionotrace portrait however shows every detail of the sitter,
including his or her clothing. The physionotrace apparatus, a mechanical wooden instrument with a viewfinder,
worked as a pantograph devise. This invention of Chrétien enabled the artist to quickly draw a portrait of the sitter
for a reasonable price. The apparatus reduced all the drawing skills of the artist to a smaller size and engraved it
in copper. By this method, this pantograph drawing aid produced small copperplates (master negative) that could
be printed again and again. The original, and rare, plates can be seen as a forerunner of the photographic
negative since the basic purpose was the same. Of course, here ends any further comparison with photography.
Although the physionotrace technique was able to produce faster and cheaper portraits of the sitter, they still were
a novelty for the aristocracy. Very often these portraits depict well known sitters. Many of the physionotrace images
in collections were produced by the inventor Gilles-Louis Chrétien (1754 - 1811). Portraits made by Quenedey
(1756 - 1830), his associate since 1788, are also found. Other names seen on physionotrace images are Fouquet,
Fournier and Bouchardy, the maker of the above portrait. Due to their typical appearance, physionotrace portraits
can easily be identified. Very often the identity of the maker is engraved in the copperplate, beneath the portrait,
as with the above: Dess. aux et gravé par Bouchardy, de Chrétien du Physionotrace, Palais Royal No 82, Paris.
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