Oil on canvas mounted on a wooden stretcher, depicting... Lot 45

Oil on canvas mounted on a wooden stretcher, depicting the bust portrait of Marquis Jules Louis Bolé de Chamlay, Maréchal Général des Logis aux camps et armées du Roi Louis XIV, inscribed in the lower dexter corner with "Anno 1693", and in the upper part with "Mre Louis Julles de BOLLÉ, Chtr Marquis de CHAMLAY Mareschal General des Logis des Camps et Armées du Roy" and coat of arms. On the reverse of the canvas, an engraving based on Le Brun's painting "L'Entrée d'Alexandre dans la Babylone" of 1664/1665 (cf. Musée du Louvre, INV 2898; MR 1919). Dimensions: 91 cm x 65.5 cm Condition: worm-eaten stretcher with no traces of recent sawdust or insect damage, canvas removed from its stretcher at an unknown time, horizontal cracks corresponding to folds suggesting that it must have been rolled, one oblique tear restored in the lower dexter corner. Jules Louis Bolé de Chamlay (1650-1719): a member of the noblesse de robe, Chamlay was the son of Alexandre Simon Bolé (1607-16731), an attorney at the Parlement who was ennobled during the Fronde. He received a solid classical education, and began his career during the Dutch War, which lasted from 1672 to 1678. He was appointed maréchal général des logis aux camps et armées du roi. His rise to prominence was meteoric, as in just a few years he won the admiration of the leading generals of his day (Condé, Turenne) and established himself as one of Louvois' key collaborators. Experts: Virginie LASALA and Jean-Julien DELAUTRE