Eugène-Emmanuel Amaury-Duval (Pineu-Duval), also known under the writer's pseudonym, Isaure Chassériau, was a well-respected, cultured French painter and writer. One of the first pupils of Jean-Auguste-Dominique Ingres. Amaury-Duval is also one of those for which the lesson of his instructor was decisive.

In 1829, he formed part of the commission of artists and scientists nominated by Charles X to go to Greece during the Expedition Morea, as a archaeology designer. Encouraged by his travels through Greece and Italy, his work exemplifies a Néo-Classical style, clearly his own. By borrowing the antiquity of the Italians, the lessons from Ingres, and the taste for a certain formal audacity, Amaury-Duval's paintings have a smooth, almost enameled finish.

Primarily known as a portrait painter, Eugène exhibited his portraits at the Salon de Paris from 1830 through 1868, walking away with the first-class medal for a portrait of his niece, Isaure Chassériau, in 1838. Many of his Salon entries over the years, indicate an extended platform of portrait commissions from the Comédie-Française, though most remain untraced today.

Unlike Ingres, who often chose mature subjects, Amaury-Duval chose young women. These are some of his most compelling paintings. In them, we see clear outlines and cool colors, evoking innocence and purity. Eugène-Emmanuel Amaury-Duval was a master in his own style. It is unfortunate, that today, we are limited by the inability to find more of his wonderful works.