Swiss school; 18th century.

Swiss School; 18th century.
"Portrait of Jean Henry Locher, Marchand".
Oil on canvas glued to cardboard.
It has inscription.
It presents faults in the pictorial surface.
Measurements: 84 x 61 cm.
We are before a male portrait of the Swiss school of the XVIII century, a work that, in its composition and execution, responds to the principles of the late baroque portrait and the incipient rococo, where the emphasis in the representation of the individuality and the social status becomes central. The painting shows a middle-aged gentleman, half-length, dressed in sumptuous clothes and ornaments that indicate his belonging to a social or academic elite. The inscription that appears next to him, as well as the coat of arms, reinforce the intention to fix the memory of this individual as a notable figure of his time.
The technical quality of the work is remarkable, especially in the meticulousness of the treatment of the fabric, particularly the lace of the collar and cuffs, where an effort is made to capture the texture and richness of the materials with verisimilitude. The lines of the face, although somewhat rigid, are well modeled, revealing an intention to give the portrayed a psychological presence, serene, but with a certain gravity, which conveys authority and dignity.
The use of light is sober, with a restrained chiaroscuro that helps to highlight the figure against a dark background, a technique inherited from the Baroque tradition. This resource, far from being merely decorative, has a symbolic purpose: to focus attention on the figure as an emblem of the social and intellectual order of the time. The gesture of the hands, especially the left one pointing towards the inscribed paper, suggests an attempt to underline his identity or his achievements, possibly academic, juridical or administrative.
The portrait in the eighteenth century fulfills both a documentary and symbolic function. Far from being a mere physical reproduction, it is conceived as a testimony to the social position, moral values and aspirations of the individual. In the Swiss context, where city-states and cantons maintained a high degree of autonomy, this type of work also served to construct a visual memory of the civic, intellectual or religious figures that constituted the institutional fabric of the community.
This portrait effectively embodies the ideals of enlightened bourgeois representation that were beginning to take shape in central Europe: sobriety, control, respect for hierarchy, and a restrained pride in the presentation of the signs of knowledge or power. Unlike the French court portrait of the time, loaded with artifice and gallantry, this Swiss example maintains a decorous restraint that speaks of a Protestant ethic of decorum and public responsibility.