The Comte and Chevalier de Choiseul as Savoyards

François-Hubert Drouais painted The Comte and Chevalier de Choiseul as Savoyards around 1758, depicting two young members of the Choiseul family — one of the most powerful in France under Louis XV — in the costume of Savoyard street children. The disguise portrait — aristocrats depicted in humble or exotic costume — was a playful genre of the Ancien Régime court that allowed the nobility to engage with popular and foreign identities while maintaining the format of the formal portrait. Drouais was among the most fashionable portraitists at the French court between Nattier and Vigée Le Brun, and his theatrical portraiture perfectly suited the period's taste for playful social performance.

Drouais renders the children with the delicate precision and luminous technique expected of court portraiture, creating a charming contrast between the subjects' aristocratic refinement and their ragged disguise. The warm palette and careful characterization show his skill with young sitters.