Portrait of André Thouin - Antoine François Piéri-Bénard

A detailed lithographic portrait of the French botanist André Thouin, created by Antoine François Piéri-Bénard in 1822.

This lithographic portrait depicts André Thouin (1747-1824), a French botanist and agronomist who served as the head gardener at the Jardin du Roi in Paris. The print captures the subject in a bust-length format, rendered with the precise, controlled line work characteristic of early nineteenth-century French lithography. The artist, Antoine François Piéri-Bénard, employs a subtle hatching technique to model the facial features and the texture of the subject's coat, creating a sense of volume against the plain background.

Below the portrait, the composition includes formal typography detailing Thouin's affiliations with the Institut Royal de France and the Académie des Sciences. The inclusion of these institutional details reflects the era's focus on scientific classification and the documentation of public figures. The work functions as a historical record, documenting the appearance of a man who contributed to the development of agricultural science and botanical study during the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries.

Piéri-Bénard was a lithographer active in Paris during the Restoration period. His work often involved the reproduction of portraits for scientific and biographical publications. The technical execution of this print demonstrates the capabilities of the lithographic medium to replicate the qualities of a pencil drawing, allowing for a soft, tonal transition that distinguishes it from the sharper lines of copperplate engraving. The portrait remains a clear example of the intersection between scientific documentation and the portraiture traditions of the period, providing a visual link to the intellectual life of early nineteenth-century France.