Jean-Étienne Liotard studied art first in his home town of Geneva and from 1723 onwards in Paris. He specialised in portraits, which he preferred to draw in pastel and enamel. In the course of his life, he painted hundreds of portraits of the European nobility. From 1736, Liotard embarked on a journey of several years, which took him to Italy, Greece and as far as Constantinople. From 1743, he lived in Vienna for two years, then in Venice and again in Vienna. His path took him further to Darmstadt, Amsterdam, Paris and London, where he portrayed the later King George III. Liotard spent the last 30 years of his life in his home town of Geneva.