Portrait of François-Joseph-Philoclès Régnier (1807-1885), sociétaire of the Comédie-Française

Théobald Chartran's portrait of François-Joseph-Philoclès Régnier (1807–1885) as a sociétaire of the Comédie-Française (1885) captures one of the institution's elder statesmen — Régnier had been a member of the company for decades and was a central figure in the transmission of French theatrical tradition. He died in the same year this portrait was painted, making it a valedictory document. Régnier was known as a teacher as well as a performer, and his influence on the next generation of Comédie actors was considerable. Chartran's portrait preserves his character at the end of a distinguished career. The work is in the Musée Carnavalet.

The portrait of the elderly actor conveys both the dignity of long achievement and the vulnerability of age. Chartran's handling of the face — the accumulated lines, the quality of aged skin — is sympathetic and technically accomplished. The overall tone is warm, befitting this final document of a distinguished theatrical life.