Christian-Louis Marie COLIN de La BIOCHAYE (Châteaubriand, 1750 - Rennes, 1813) Interior of a collector Wrapped walnut panel 49,5 x 45 cm The sale of his office as President of the Requests at the Parliament of Brittany in 1785 allowed Christian Colin de la Biochaye to devote himself to painting. In 1794, he proceeded to the inventory of the artistic and scientific collections confiscated from the religious communities and the emigrants and established the inventory of the collections of President de Robien, which would form the core of the future museum of Fine Arts of Rennes. From a well-to-do background, our artist practiced painting as an amateur. He devoted himself to still life, genre scenes, landscapes, and once tried his hand at history painting with Le Gouvernement protecteur des Arts ramené par la Paix (Rennes, Archives départementales). Colin de La Biochaye's precisely described still lifes bear witness to the influence of 17th century Dutch paintings, but also of the artist Vallayer Coster. The latter painted a famous picture in 1769, Panaches of the Sea, Lithophytes and Shells, which was probably a source of inspiration for Colin de La Biochaye.