“Mademoiselle Chevalière d’Éon” [= Charles-Geneviève d'Éon de Beaumont (1728–1810)]; Pierre-Adrien Le Beau [engraving]; Claude-Louis Desrais [design].

Charles Geneviève Louis Auguste César André Timothée, Déon de Beaumont, née à Tonnerre en 1728.

Paris, Esnauts & Rapilly, [ca. 1770–before 1777].

Engraving on laid paper (ca. 19,5 x 14 cm).

Portrait of d’Eon, nearly half-length, in profile to the left; wearing the full military garb of a Captain of the Dragoons, including epaulets and medals; in an oval.

A scarce contemporary portrait of the Chevalier d'Éon, perhaps the most famous gender-nonconforming figure of the Enlightenment. Produced before the French crown officially recognized d'Éon as a woman in 1777, the portrait presents him as a decorated military officer and man of letters.

The profile likeness depicts d'Éon in the uniform of a Captain of Dragoons, wearing epaulettes and the cross of the Order of Saint Louis. The portrait is enclosed within an ornamental oval frame surrounded by attributes of learning and accomplishment, including books, musical scores, writing implements, and laurel branches. The engraved caption summarizes d'Éon's remarkable career as lawyer, royal censor, dragoon captain, Chevalier of Saint Louis, and French minister plenipotentiary to the Court of England.

Soldier, diplomat, spy, author, and celebrity, d'Éon became one of the most recognizable public figures of eighteenth-century Europe. Public speculation concerning d'Éon's sex generated an international sensation, making him a fixture of newspapers, pamphlets, caricatures, and wagers on both sides of the Channel. Today he remains one of the most studied figures in the history of gender identity and expression.

Rare in the market.

Condition: repairs to the blank edges, otherwise in good condition.