Art history is haunted by the foil: the dark star whose diminished luster sets off another's brilliance. Relegated to this role by modern historians of Revolutionary-era French art, Francois-Andre Vincent (17461816) is chiefly viewed in the reflection of his contemporary, Jacques-Louis David. The Perfect Foil frees Vincent from this distorting mirror. Offering a nuanced and historically accurate account of Vincent's life and work, Elizabeth C. Mansfield reveals the artist's profound influence on the visual culture of the French Revolution-and, paradoxically, on the art historical narrative that would consign him to obscurity.