Boxes and Cases — The Collector : Le Goût Français
Henri-Joseph van Blarenberghe was a French painter.
During the reign of Louis XVI of France Henri-Joseph became a specialist of battle scenes, due to the fact that he was a military painter in the retinue of the French army, as was his father.
He also devoted himself to painting miniatures, to decorate boxes for smoking tobacco, made of wood or precious metals: gilded silver, gold, even gold and platinum. Excellent at capturing the details of clothing and decorations, he finished his little boxes with particular accuracy and grace.
During the period of the French Revolution Henri-Joseph Van Blarenberghe devoted himself to painting historical scenes. He made gouaches with court scenes, with pleasant animated landscapes. His paintings are a testimony to the life of the time in France.
