The painter Robert Gardelle finishes his training in Paris in the studio of Nicolas de Largillière and returns to Geneva in 1712 to specialize in portraiture, painting many of the well-known personalities of the time, such as the politician Pierre Fatio or the scientist Jean-Louis Calandrini. The sitter of the current portrait, Jacques-Barthélemy Micheli du Crest, a direct ancestor the Micheli family at Château du Crest, was a multi-talented ‘homme des lumières’. He began his career in the military as captain and military engineer in the French army, going on to enter politics becoming a member of the Conseil des Deux Cents in Geneva. A physicist, an architect and specialist in fortifications and urbanization, he published much of his research, notably concerning the measurement of temperature. However, his open criticism of the defenses of the city of Geneva and the aristocratic regime and his refusal to apologize publicly, meant that all his property was confiscated and he finished his life in captivity in the castle of Aarbourg, from where he drew the first scientific panorama of the alps in 1755.