Paris, J. [L.] Boilly, 1820. Engraved, tinted broadsheet (36.3 x 27.3 cm).

A rarely-seen portrait of the French physicist, inventor and balloonist Jacques Alexandre César Charles (1746–1823). "Charles and the Robert brothers launched the world's first hydrogen-filled gas balloon in August 1783; then in December 1783, Charles and his co-pilot Nicolas-Louis Robert ascended to a height of about 1,800 feet (550 m) in a piloted gas balloon. Their pioneering use of hydrogen for lift led to this type of gas balloon being named a Charlière (as opposed to the hot-air Montgolfière). Charles's law, describing how gases tend to expand when heated, was formulated by Joseph Louis Gay-Lussac in 1802, but he credited it to unpublished work by Charles"(Wikipedia). The artist, Julien-Léopold Boilly (1796-1874) was noted for his album of lithographs, Iconographie de l'Institut royal de France ou collection des portraits des Membres composant les quatre académies depuis 1814 jusqu'en 1825 (1820-1825). His portraits are much less stiff and formal than many by his contemporaries. This portrait shows Charles at a fairly young age. Signed by the artist in the lower right margin of the portrait and dated 1820. The caption states the date of his birth and the years when Charles was elected as a member of the Académie (1795). Uncut. Scattered light foxing; several small dents and weak creases - mostly in the right margin; otherwise very good.