Charles And Henri Beaubrun - Portrait Of A Young Woman Of The Court Represented As The Goddess Flora

Remarkable painting from the 17th century, representing a young woman from the court of Louis XIV adorned with the attributes of the goddess Flore, a work attributed to Charles and Henri Beaubrun.

Our painting embodies a young woman of quality represented in three quarters, wearing a gray silk dress, adorned with a veil and red ribbons, the neckline and sleeves sewn with fine lace. The numerous pearl jewels as well as the richness of the dress reinforce the importance of his rank.

Our aristocrat delicately holds in his hands a garland of flowers which gives depth to the scene and reinforces its theatrical character.

A floral adornment in her hair and a red drape fluttering in the wind borrow elements from mythological images. This abundance evokes the vitality of nature and refers to the figure of the goddess of spring Flora, companion of the west wind Zephyr.

Glorifying beauty through a mythological disguise, Flore constituted a role artificially assigned to young brides for its symbolism of fertility and blooming youth, but its attributes also served as real ornaments to adorn clothes and hair. Thus, from the middle of the 17th century, female representations adorned with flowers multiplied, echoing both the goddess and contemporary fashion, proving that the model and the sponsor were aware of the latest clothing trends.

The hairstyle "à la garcette" of our model indicates the important condition of its carrier and will often be part of the baroque style of the XVIIth century. Of Spanish origin, this thin curly fringe was made fashionable by Queen Anne of Austria. It lasted from the 1630s to the 1660s.

The stylistic characteristics of our painting are very close to the portraits made by the Beaubrun brothers, representing many women of the Court of France. This meticulous and precious style, inspired by the Dutch model, is typical of the creations of Charles and Henri Beaubrun.

Particular care has been given to the face and hands of the model, to the treatment of the drapes as well as to the floral attributes.

The general atmosphere is reinforced by a subtle interplay between harsh light and the deep shadows it creates, on its opposite, on fabrics and flesh. The resumption of the lighting, behind the neck of the model, thus underlines the natural curve of the body. The face is treated with great finesse in the velvety flesh, entirely devoted to light.

Our painting is borrowed from a remarkable technique and demonstrates the talent of the two painters to draw inspiration from portraits drawn from the 16th century.

It should be noted that their works are mostly made jointly. Moreover, Louis XIV liked to see the two artists put one touch after another and had fun making them change hands without the style changing. This habit of working together is attested by a painting painted by their pupil Martin Lambert. This one, for his reception at the Academy in 1663, represented them both seated to work on the same work, a portrait of a woman, Henri giving advice to his cousin who holds the palette and the brushes in his hand. This association commits to not trying to distinguish the hand of each of the two cousins ​​who did everything to be confused.

Until the end of the 1660s, portraits of Henri Beaubrun and his cousin Charles Beaubrun enjoyed great success.

Appreciated by the royal family and in particular by Queen Mother Anne of Austria, the two artists built up a wealthy aristocratic clientele among which many court ladies shone. These portraits, whose official character is obvious, were, for some of them, commissioned by the king himself to adorn his residences. Louis XIV was then inspired by a vogue born in Italy at the end of the 15th century and which consisted in bringing together in a gallery or a cabinet, a collection of portraits of women remarkable for their beauty.

These paintings offer a real snapshot of the court of France at the dawn of the new reign and illustrate in their own way this brilliant decade when, peace rediscovered inside and outside the kingdom, a prelude to the rise of the Grand Century.

Our painting dates from the mid-17th century, around 1660. Work attributed to Charles and Henri Beaubrun. It is presented in an 18th century frame, carved and gilded with seeds and bay leaves.

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