A draughtsman and engraver of the Ecole genevoise, Abraham Bouvier made his mark on the art scene of his time by engraving a number of portraits of personalities from Geneva. He also enjoyed engraving copies of Old Masters and Swiss artists of his time, such as Firmin Massot. He taught drawing at the Collège de Genève and was a member of the Société des Arts de Genève, which preserves several of his works. An inscription in black ink on the lower left corner of the paper on which the drawing is fixed provides us with several pieces of information: the present drawing, made by Abraham Bouvier probably in January 1825, is a copy of a work by the Dutch master Gérard Dou (Leyde, 1613-Leyde, 1675) depicting a Hermit praying. This work, which was in the famous Duval collection at the time, has not yet be located. Moreover, the present drawing is none other than the preparatory model for the engraving made by Abraham Bouvier for the same subject, which is one of several engravings of works that belonged to François Duval (a collection of these prints is kept at the Archives d'État de la ville de Genève).

We wish to thank Dr Vincent Chenal for his expertise.