This famous painter, engraver and pastelliste, was born of parents who found refuge in Geneva at the time of the revocation of the Edict of Nantes by Louis XIV. He was a great traveller. After studying in France, he went to live in Greece and in Constantinople where he adopted the oriental style of dress.

Returning to Geneva in 1758, the whole Genevan aristocracy chased him to paint their portraits. This admirer of Chardin has left behind him, charming landscapes, portraits, still lives, etc.

He is particularly well known for his pastels, such as “The chocolate-seller and the paragon” (La Chocolatière et le parangon). The Empress Marie-Thérèse of Austria commissioned him to produce a group portrait of her children