Nicolas Delerive (c. 1755-1818) Pencil drawing on paper, c. 1803 Inv. 772 Although he is better known for his genre paintings, Delerive also produced several portraits, including one of the Count of Barca (Museum of Portuguese Decorative Arts – FRESS) painted soon after arriving in Portugal, where he stayed for five years. In 1800, following a stay in Spain, he settled permanently in Lisbon, where he would die eighteen years later; this period in his career remains rather obscure. He continued to produce portraits, depicting the Prince Regent, the future King João VI, in a half-body pose (National Palace of Queluz) and on horseback (National Palace of Ajuda) in a large equestrian portrait that ‘was not that great’ in the words of Cirilo Volkmar Machado. The drawing displayed here is of notable quality and displays certain similarities with the portrait stored at Queluz, which is dated 1803 and may have been produced before or after the drawing. Prince João looks straight at the viewer wearing a velvet tailcoat adorned with medals: the plaque and sash of the three military orders (Christ, Aviz and Santiago), the plaque of the Spanish Order of Charles III and the insignia of the Order of the Golden Fleece hanging from his chest.