Portrait of Denis Diderot
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| Portrait of Denis Diderot | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Artist | Louis-Michel van Loo |
| Year | 1767 |
| Type | Oil on canvas, portrait painting |
| Dimensions | 81 cm × 65 cm (32 in × 26 in) |
| Location | Louvre, Paris |
Portrait of Denis Diderot is a 1767 portrait painting by the French artist Louis-Michel van Loo. Rococo in style, it depicts the philosopher, writer and art critic Denis Diderot, a significant figure in the Age of Enlightenment in Ancien régime France.[1] It was common in the eighteenth century for writers to be portrayed in dressing gowns to indicate their literary interests.[2]
Diderot himself strongly disliked the painting.[3][4] He said he had been made to look like an old cocotte who was still trying to be agreeable."[5] It was exhibited at the Salon of 1767 at the Louvre in Paris, which Diderot wrote about extensively.[6] Today it is in the collection of the Louvre, having been acquired in 1911.[7]
