Jean etienne Liotard

Jean Étienne Liotard , 1702-89, Swiss painter. He is best known for his portraits and drawings in pastel, but he also made portraits in oil, paintings on glass and porcelain, and engravings and enamels. Internationally known in his time, he traveled throughout Europe and the Near East, working for various courts, aristocrats, and public figures. Among his many portraits are those of Marie Antoinette, Francis I, and Maria Theresa. His work is best seen in Amsterdam and Geneva.

Liotard, Jean-Étienne (b Geneva, 22 Dec. 1702; d Geneva, 12 June 1789). Swiss painter (mainly in pastels) and printmaker. He travelled widely in Europe and also spent four years in Constantinople (1738–42), after which he adopted ‘Turkish’ dress and beard (actually more Moldavian); his eccentric appearance, which was a useful form of self-publicity, is familiar from his numerous self-portraits (after his marriage he reluctantly shaved off the beard to please his wife). His delicate and polished style brought him fashionable success as a portraitist in London (which he visited in 1754–5), Paris, Vienna, and the Netherlands. The best collection of his work is in the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire in Geneva, his native city.

Liotard, Jean-Étienne (1702–89). Swiss painter (mainly in pastels) and printmaker. He travelled widely in Europe and also spent four years in Constantinople (1738–42), after which he adopted Turkish dress and beard; his eccentric appearance, which was a useful form of self-publicity, is familiar from his numerous self-portraits (after his marriage he reluctantly shaved off the beard to please his wife). His delicate and polished style brought him fashionable success as a portraitist in Paris, the Netherlands, and England, which he visited in 1754–5. The best collection of his work is in the Musée d'Art et d'Histoire in Geneva, his native city.