French School Of The 18th Century Portrait Of A Gentleman, Pastel

French School of the 18th Century
Portrait of a gentleman
Pastel on paper 
25 x 18 cm
Framed : 49 x 32 cm

The mounting of this work is marked "Attribué à Saint Aubin", which means that it is probably attributed to Gabriel Jacques de Saint-Aubin (1724-1780), whose pastel portraits are close in spirit and execution.  
In the absence of documented proof, this type of attribution should be taken with great caution, but its quality is undeniable and does indeed suggest a good hand. 
The 18th century was the age of the pastel portrait, and we find the characteristics that made it the preferred medium of the period: the lively, spirited character of a portrait in which the sitter seems to be caught in the act of speaking, as if turning his head towards the painter in the course of a conversation.