A 19th-century portrait of a seated man and a standing woman. The man, holding an open book, wears an elegant dark suit. The woman, in a white dress with large puffed sleeves, rests her hand on the mans shoulder. Both are looking forward.

Vaudechamp in New Orleans

by William Keyse Rudolph

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Vaudechamp in New Orleans

Vaudechamp in New Orleans

by William Keyse Rudolph

A biography and survey of the works of Jean-Joseph Vaudechamp, the French painter who made portraits of elite Louisiana Creoles in the 1830s.

A book cover featuring a portrait of a man with dark hair in 19th-century attire, set against a muted background. The title Vaudechamp in New Orleans is at the top, and William Keyse Rudolph is at the bottom.

Vaudechamp in New Orleans

HNOC 2007
hardcover • 8" × 9½" • 128 pp.
88 color images; 8 b&w
ISBN 978-0-917860-51-5

$25.00

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Although Vaudechamp”s story is, in many respects, a timeless parable about fathers, sons, and self-invention, it is also a tale of a particular historical moment.

During the 1830s Parisian artist Jean-Joseph Vaudechamp (1790–1864) spent his winters in Louisiana, establishing himself as the region’s leading portrait painter. He was, quite simply, the best-educated artist yet to have worked in New Orleans, a graduate of the École des Beaux-Arts and the studio of Anne-Louis Girodet-Trioson. In Vaudechamp in New Orleans, author William Keyse Rudolph traces the life and work of the French portraitist. Compellingly narrated, this volume is also a meditation on fathers, sons, and the role of portraiture in the transmission of culture.

Vaudechamp is one of the primary figures responsible for the unique character of Louisiana art. As such, he eminently deserves our attention.

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