Louis François AUBRY (Paris 1767-1851) - Lot 30

Louis François AUBRY (Paris 1767-1851) Portrait of Hagop Duz-Oglou at age 13, 1806. Oval oil on paper. Signed center left in French Aubry and in Armenian ???? On the back, an old ink inscription "Peint par / Aubry / en 1806 / demeurant rue Neuve / des Petits-Champs n° 18 / à Paris". 14 x 10.5 cm. Fine period frame. Identification of Hagop Duz-Oglou (1793-1847) is established by comparison with the engraving of Jean-Joseph Ansiaux's painting, Portrait en pied de M. Agob Duz-Oglu peignant le portrait de son père, published in the Annales du Musée et de l'École moderne des beaux-arts (Salon de 1808). The Annales text also provides valuable information on the young boy's arrival in Paris: "M. Agob Duz-Oglu, aged fourteen, was born in Constantinople and belongs to a respectable Armenian family. His father, Jean Duz-Oglu, jeweler to the crown, inspector of the mint, and intendant of the furnishings of the imperial palace of the great lord, enjoys the esteem of all, from the supreme head of state to the last subject of the capital; he owes this consideration to the sincere devotion he bears to the person of his highness, to the fidelity with which he serves her, and finally to his gentle, affable and beneficent character. This general esteem has been earned by his family for more than a century and a half. Mr. Jean Duz-Oglu, by order of Sultan Selim III, sent his son to Paris to learn painting. The young man's progress surpassed both his sovereign's and his father's expectations. In the space of thirty-two months, he learned French, oil, enamel and miniature painting. He attended M. Vauquelin's chemistry classes, studied physics and mineralogy; cultivated music and a few other pleasurable arts." We know from other sources that, during his stay in France, the young boy accompanied his father to a dinner with Cambacérès and a reception with Barras. He left France for England, where he continued his education. In 1819, his brothers, who had succeeded their father in high office, were beheaded on the orders of Mahmoud II. Hagop was spared, but exiled. He regained the sultan's graces in 1834, when he was given his father's old position: inspector of the mint. He held this lucrative position - he was the richest Armenian in the Ottoman Empire - until his death in Italy after a long illness. He was succeeded by his nephew, Mihran Duzian. ment Jewelry and Armenian Goldsmiths Under the Ottomans (see lot 127 in this catalog).