The choice of medium used here, enamel, and its substrate, a ceramic plaque, is especially appropriate for this portrait. Dihl was a partner in one of the first manufacturers of hard-paste porcelain in France. He is shown here with the tools of his expertise—a grinding stone, pots of red, yellow, and blue enamel colors and an enamel test plate—and examples of his work.

From The creation of color in eighteenth-century Europe by Sarah Lowengard