Charles-Claude Flahaut de la Billaderie

The portrait of Charles‑Claude Flahaut de La Billarderie was painted in 1779, as indicated by its inception date and the sitter’s age at the time.

It was created in France during the late eighteenth century and is today held by the Museum of the History of France at the Palace of Versailles, where it is catalogued as MV 3926 (also INV 4304 and AC 1563).

The portrait of Charles-Claude Flahaut de la Billaderie, dated 1779, is held by the National Museum of the Palace of Versailles and Trianon. It resides specifically within the Museum of the History of France collection. The work carries multiple inventory references, including MV 3926, INV 4304, and AC 1563, as recorded in the French national museum database.

The painting is an oil on canvas work attributed to the school of France, created after a piece by Joseph Siffred Duplessis.

Charles-Claude Flahaut de la Billaderie (1730–1810) was a French architect and nobleman whose portrait was painted in 1779, reflecting his prominence in Enlightenment-era intellectual and architectural circles. The work, attributed to Joseph Siffred Duplessis, is housed in the Museum of the History of France at the Palace of Versailles and is documented in both the Joconde database and the Palace of Versailles collection. Its depiction of the sitter holding architectural plans underscores his role in neoclassical design and institutional reform, situating the portrait within broader discussions of French artistic patronage and Enlightenment-era professional identity.

Scholarly attention has focused on the painting’s stylistic precision and its representation of architectural authority in pre-Revolutionary France, with recent studies emphasizing its contribution to understanding the intersection of art, science, and statecraft in 18th-century France.

The oil painting portrays a seated figure in an interior setting. He occupies a blue chair with gilded detailing, while a column and a wall form the backdrop. The composition centers on the man holding a lengthy sheet of paper that appears to contain architectural drawings.