Among Alexander Roslin’s first subjects in Paris were his French colleagues. He had to win them all over if he was going to succeed as an artist in the French capital. It was also a strategic way of showing off his skills. In his portrayal of the sea-piece painter Claude Joseph Vernet he gave his subject a vivid gaze and a secretive smile. Despite the portrait’s merits, the art critic Denis Diderot delivered a harsh judgement.