Chevalier d'Eon
- Artist: Jean-Laurent Mosnier
- Artist: Thomas Stewart
- Date: 1792
- Medium: oil on canvas
- Dimensions: 30 1/8 in. x 25 1/4 in. (765 mm x 640 mm)
- Portrays: Charles Geneviève Louis Auguste André Timothée d'Eon de Beaumont
- Museum: The National Portrait Gallery
- Collection record: The National Portrait Gallery website
Listen to the free audio guide
About this artwork
This oil on canvas shows Chevalier d’Eon in a striking ensemble: the white coat with a Croix de St Louis medal, a feathered hat topped by a cockade that signals his loyalty to the French revolution. The sitter—Charles Geneviève Louis Auguste André Timothée d’Eon—looks directly at us from a poised stance. Notice the fine brushwork in his hair and the subtle shadowing around the hat brim, creating depth. Created in 1792 by Thomas Stewart as a copy of Jean‑Laurent Mosnier’s original shown at the Royal Academy in 1791, this portrait marks the first documented image of a trans person in Britain’s National Portrait Gallery. The gallery bought it in 2012, adding this early portrait to its collection.
See it in person
Chevalier d'Eon is in the collection of The National Portrait Gallery at St Martin's Place, London — free to enter. Point your phone at any artwork there and audioguide.london plays a free audio guide in six languages — no app download needed.
