Jacques-André-Joseph Aved

Jacques-André-Joseph Aved was born in or near the city of Douai in Flanders on January 12, 1702. Aved was raised in Amsterdam, where he discovered a love for art. At the age of sixteen, Aved employed himself as a peddler or 'camelot,' traveling throughout the Netherlands to draw portraits at fairs. In fact, his time as an itinerant portraitist earned Aved the nickname 'Camelot.' Aved later spent short periods of time studying in the studios of artists François Boitard and Bernard Picart before leaving Amsterdam for Paris in 1721.

In Paris, Aved became a student of the well-known portraitist Alexis-Simon Belle. During this time, Aved became acquainted with numerous members of Paris' community of artists and formed an especially close and lasting friendship with Jean-Siméon Chardin, a still-life painter who turned to portraiture in the 1730s, possibly as a result of Aved's influence.

After his arrival in Paris, Aved's fame as a portraitist grew steadily. He was approved by the Académie Royale in 1731 and was received as a full member in 1734 after exhibiting portraits of the painters Pierre-Jacques Cazes and Jean-François de Troy. Aved went on to become a frequent exhibitor-nearly always of portraits-at the Académie's Salons.

Most of Aved's clients and subjects were members of the bourgeoisie, but he also received commissions from noted art collectors, diplomats, and members of the nobility. Aved became known for presenting his subjects in a truthful and psychologically revealing way. Aved's more realistic approach is representative of a contemporary movement away from the mythologizing, extravagant tone of earlier French portraitists. Aved's style may also have been influenced by his Flemish background and his interest in Flemish art.

Aved's more realistic style reached a high point in 1741 when he completed Mme Crozat, a portrait of a wealthy banker's wife depicted while sewing. The informality of his subject's pose established Aved as a pioneer of candid portraiture. Three years later, in 1744, Aved was commissioned to paint a portrait of Louis XV, earning him the title of 'peintre du roi' (Painter of the King).

Aved continued to work as a portraitist throughout his later career. An avid art collector, he also formed an extensive collection of ceramics, bronzes, sculptures, and paintings, with a preference for Dutch and Flemish works, gaining him a reputation as an art connoisseur. Aved died in Paris on March 4, 1766.