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François de Troy

Price Tax incl.:
24000 EUR

Portrait of the Duchesse de Fontanges, Marie-Angélique de Scorailles By François de Troy (Toulouse 1645 - Paris 1730) French school of the early 18th century. Oil on canvas, oval format: h. 71 cm, w. 61 cm 19th-century frame Framed dimensions: h. 105 cm, l. 85 cm Although unsigned, like most of François de Troy's works, our portrait has been authenticated by the Cabinet Turquin as an autograph by François de Troy. Provenance : Paris, galerie Heim-Gairac in 1965. Private collection. Published in the book on the life of Louis XIV "The Sun King: Louis XIV at Versailles", Nancy Mitford , London: H. Hamilton, 1966. The young woman, traditionally identified as the Duchesse de Fontanges, Louis XIV's mistress, is portrayed in full-length bust, her head slightly raised and turned to the left. She seems to dominate the viewer. She is dressed in a blue satin gown and wrapped in an orange satin stole, which shines with its most mordant brilliance. Her graceful hand, with index and ring fingers splayed and middle finger glued to ring finger, holds slippery fabrics to her chest. Her stole fluttering in the wind creates instant movement, and the arm bent at the elbow at an angle transforms her static pose. The perfect oval face is animated by wide gray eyes, a snub nose, full cheeks and a mouth that sketches a half-smile. Her powdered, tied-back hair is spiked with flowers. As the young woman wears no jewelry, her youthful radiance and translucent hue are her only adornments. The juxtaposition of icy blue satin and incandescent orange, like the heart and contours of a flame, indicates François de Troy's great talent as a colorist. His vibrant, nervous touch enlivens the fluid fabrics, making them shimmer and change. Their surfaces are worked in quivering brushstrokes, with serifs and glazes forming an elegant arrangement. The glazes on the face are treated with superimposed light, transparent layers, producing pearlescent reflections and a translucent rendering, the technique in which de Troy particularly excels. The painting's style and treatment easily allow us to date it to the years 1700-1705. However, this does not mean that the portrait was painted during the lifetime of the model, who died in 1681. However, we cannot rule out the possibility that it was a posthumous portrait, commissioned either by the king or by the duchess's family, who wished to commemorate the memory of the deceased. Marie-Angélique de Scorailles (or d'Escorailles) de Roussille, duchesse de Fontanges, born July 27, 1661 and died June 28, 1681, was a favorite of Louis XIV. François de Troy (Toulouse 1645 - Paris 1730) François de Troy, born into a family of artists from Toulouse, made a name for himself early on, designing the coat of arms for the Prince de Conti's solemn entry into Toulouse in 1662. He then moved to Paris, where he continued his training in the studio of Nicolas Loir, then Jean I Cotelle, whose daughter he married in 1668. Initially a history painter, he was admitted to the Académie in 1671 and received his diploma in 1674 with "Mercure et Argus". By frequenting Claude Lefebvre's studio, he turned to the art of portraiture, of which he was one of the greatest exponents at the end of the reign of Louis XIV and during the Regency. It is thought that his friendship with Charles Le Brun, the King's first painter, brought him into contact with Madame de Montespan, who made him one of her regular artists. The impetuous favorite's interpersonal skills brought him into contact with the royal family and all the important people at court and in Paris. He also portrayed the royal family of England, exiled to France at the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye from 1689. A fine courtier, François de Troy then became attached to the Duc du Maine, Louis XIV's cherished bastard son, and to his influential wife, daughter of the Prince de Condé. Assistant professor in 1692, he was appointed professor at the Académie the following year. He was director from 1708 to 1711. He was also commissioned several times by Parisian aldermen for religious commissions. His son Jean-François (1679 - 1752) collaborated with him at the end of his career, before taking up the torch and perpetuating the family glory.

Galerie Nicolas Lenté
2, rue des Saints-Pères
75007 Paris