Jacques-François-Joseph Swebach-Desfontaine (1769-1823) was a French artist, lithographer and engraver, well known for his porcelain designs. In 1802-1812 he was the first painter at the Sevres Porcelain Factory in Paris and published Encyclopedie Pittoresque d’Swebach – an illustrated encyclopaedia which for many years served as important source for the decoration of porcelain objects.

He was officially invited to Russia by Count Dmitry Guryev (1758-1825), the Minister of Finance (in office 1810-1823), to head the artistic studio of the Imperial Porcelain Factory in St Petersburg. He lived and worked in Russia from 1815-1820, during which he created numerous designs for painting on porcelain.

One of his most important students was his son, Bernard Edouard Swebach (1800-1870), who would go on to become an established painter in his own right. They collaborated closely, worked on related subject matter – military scenes, horses, carriages, and often signed indistinguishably from one another, which has made exact attributions to the father or son difficult.

A comparable painting to the current lot is Post office in Russia (circa 1815-1820), attributed to Jacques-François-Joseph Swebach, in the collection of the Vyatka Art Museum in Kirov, Russia.