Louis HERSENT (Paris, 1777-1860), attribué à. Lot n° 19

Portrait of Louis-Philippe d'Orléans, king of the French. Oil on canvas (accidents). H. 123 x W. 92 cm. History Our painting, recently found in a French collection, is a rare full-length representation of King Louis-Philippe from a now lost portrait, the first official commission of the King's portrait. Indeed, it is a smaller version of the painting commissioned in 1830 from Louis Hersent, painted in 1831 and exhibited at the Salon of the same year (n° 1062), then destroyed in 1848 during the sacking of the Palais Royal. This portrait is known from a lithograph by Girard in 1832, a version of which was sold in 2015 at Sotheby's in the Orleans collection (lot 89). Only three other versions are known, including one given by the King to Talleyrand (see below). The King of the French is depicted in the tradition of royal portraits, without the Charter, in a ceremonial uniform bearing the Order of Grand Cross of the Legion of Honor, next to the royal crown on a cushion against a background of columns and hangings, probably in the Tuileries. Behind him are an Empire armchair with a sphinx bust and a footrest. Apart from a sketch by Hersent recently sold at Drouot, no version of this portrait, executed well before the famous Winterhalter portraits, is known to be in private hands. Related works - Louis Hersent, full-length portrait of King Louis-Philippe, oil on canvas. Given by the King to the Prince de Talleyrand, Château de Valençay, inv. OA036. - Louis Hersent (after?), Portrait of King Louis-Philippe, c. 1831, oil on canvas, 263 x 194 cm. Museum of Fine Arts and Archaeology, Besançon, inv. D.831.2.1. - Louis Hersent, Sketch for the portrait of King Louis-Philippe, oil on canvas, 33 x 25 cm. De Baecque sale, Drouot, June 17, 2022, lot 98 (sold for €4,000). - Louis Hersent (after?), Portrait en pied du roi Louis-Philippe, oil on canvas, 257 x 195 cm. Musée des Beaux-Arts de La Rochelle, inv. MAH.1850.1.1.