NICOLAS DE LARGILLIERE (1656-1746) Self-portrait (1711) Oil on canvas (80 x 65 cm) Chateau de Versailles To enlarge the image, right-click on it and choose "Open in a new tab" Largillière painted several portraits of himself: in 1699 (Tours, Musee des Beaux-Arts), 1711 (Versailles, Chateau), 1724 (Montpellier, Musee Fabre) and 1729 (Florence, Uffizi). These works …
Tag: French Baroque painting
Monsieur Lerambert
ALEXIS-SIMON BELLE (1674-1734) Portrait of Louis Lerambert Oil on canvas (130 x 99 cm) To enlarge the image, right-click on it and choose "Open in a new tab" Born into a family of artists Alexis-Simon Belle trained under Francois de Troy. He followed the teaching dispensed by the Royal Academy and won the Prix de …
A View of Versailles
JEAN-BAPTISTE MARTIN (1658-1735) View of the Forecourts of the Chateau de Versailles and the Stables (1688) Oil on canvas (260 x 184 cm) Chateau de Versailles Leading onto the Gallery, the Cool Room at Trianon linked the King's apartments, of which it was part, to those of Mme de Maintenon. The painting over the mantelpiece, …
Portrait of a Portraitist
MARC NATTIER (1642-1705) Portrait of Gilbert de Seve Oil on canvas (117 x 88 cm) Chateau de Versailles To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and choose "Open in a new tab" We normally associate the surname Nattier with Jean-Marc (1685-1766) the famous portraitist of Louis XV and his court, or even Jean-Baptiste (1678-1726). The …
A Goldsmith
FRENCH SCHOOL Portrait of a Goldsmith Oil on canvas (92 x 76 cm) Chateau de Versailles To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and choose "Open in a new tab" Despite the extremely high quality of this work, characterized by an uncompromising realism and an execution that reveals the hand of a virtuoso, the identities …
Le Grand Colbert
CLAUDE LEFEBVRE (1632-1674) Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1666) Oil on canvas (138 x 113 cm) Chateau de Versailles To enlarge the image, right-click on it, then "Open in a new tab" Claude Lefebvre was the son of the painter Jean Lefebvre (1600-1664); he was baptized on 12th September 1632 at the church of Saint Louis …
A Great Nobleman
FRENCH SCHOOL Portrait of Gabriel de Rochechouart, Duke of Mortemart Oil on canvas (182 x 97 cm) Chateau de Versailles To enlarge the picture, right-click on it, then "Open in a new tab" The sitter has been identified by comparing this portrait with a drawing in the Bibliotheque Nationale. Gabriel de Rochechuart (1600-75) began his career …
A French Hero
CHARLES LEBRUN (1619-1690) Henri de La Tour d'Auvergne, Vicomte de Turenne Oil on canvas (67 x 52 cm) Chateau de Versailles To enlarge the picture, right-click on it and "Open in a new tab" This Portrait of Turenne, with its stunning sense of presence and truth, is not a finished work, but a study for …
Portrait of an Architect
PHILIPPE DE CHAMPAIGNE (1602-1674) Portrait of Jacques Lemercier (1644) Oil on canvas (97 x 75 cm) Chateau de Versailles Following a visit to Rome in 1607, Jacques Lemercier (1585-1654) rapidly became one of the most reputed architects in Paris. It was not long before Richelieu engaged him, entrusting him with his main building projects, the most …
My Father-in-Law
FRANCOIS TORTEBAT (1621-1690) Portrait of Simon Vouet (1665) Oil on canvas (63 x 52 cm) Chateau de Versailles Quite unlike the many dazzling portraits of worthies shown to their best advantage by flattering regalia, the artist eliminated every single superfluous feature here, in order to concentrate on the sitter's almost hypnotic stare. Using thick paint, he scrupulously described …
Old Masters 