Portrait Of An Elegant Woman In A Scarlet Dress – Attributed To François De Troy (1645 – 1730)

Oil on canvas. French school from the end of the 17th century, attributed to François de Troy.
Portraited in three-quarter view, this lady embodies the feminine elegance of the end of the 17th century. Its so-called “Fontange” cut refers to the eponymous duchess who, having had her hair disheveled by a branch during a hunting trip, tied her hair back with the ribbon of her garter. Louis XIV having found his favorite's new hairstyle charming, the women of the court were quick to reappropriate this hairstyle. So our elegant woman is up to date with the latest fashions at the court of the Sun King. If the shimmering shimmer of her dress immediately catches our eye, the real audacity lies in the transparent scarf that runs along her shoulders and lets us glimpse her budding breasts. Although the model's pose may seem demure, the artist's manner is no less virtuoso. We can see the hand of François de Troy who, from the 1680s, moved away from the classicizing style of Le Brun in favor of a more Veneto-Rubenian color. The lively touch with which he sketches the lace gives movement to the fabrics and the discreet impasto of the gold embroidery catches the light. In this light, the vibrant aesthetic of our composition is reminiscent of his Portrait of Mademoiselle de Nantes (Museum of Fine Arts of Barcelona) and his Portrait of the Princess of Conti (Museum of Fine Arts of Agen) . The exceptional longevity of François de Troy's career combined with his talent made him one of the most celebrated portrait painters of his time. Thus, the art historian Pierre-Jean Mariette (1694 – 1774) wrote about him “that he had an extremely blended way of painting, a light and easy brush and a color that imitates all the tones wonderfully well. of the flesh” and that “his portraits were worthy of entering into a parallel with the most famous works of Van Dyck and Titian”.

Our portrait is presented in its original carved and gilded oak frame decorated with leaves, flowers and acorns.
Dimensions: 69 x 58 cm – 91 x 80 cm with the frame

Biography: François de Troy (Toulouse January 9, 1645 – Paris, May 1, 1730) was born into a family of glaziers and embroiderers. We know nothing of his Toulouse childhood. Perhaps he learned painting from his father, Antoine, who also practiced the art of portraiture. His installation in Paris between 1662 and 1668 allowed him to train with Claude Lefebvre and Nicolas-Pierre Loir, who gradually introduced him to the court. Approved by the Royal Academy in 1669, he was officially accepted there in 1674 as a history painter. However, it was the genre of portraiture that earned him his fame and to which he devoted himself fully from 1675. Building on his success, François de Troy progressed in the hierarchy of the Academy, becoming professor in 1693, then director in 1708 and finally assistant rector in 1722. André Bouys, Hubert Drouais and his own son, Jean-François de Troy, received his teachings there. Having experienced the reigns of Louis XIV and Louis XV, François de Troy remains one of the most famous portraitists of the French Baroque, alongside Nicolas de Largillière and Hyacinthe Rigaud.

Bibliography:
- AUBERT, Jean, Faces of the Grand Siècle: French portraiture under the reign of Louis Augustins, October 8, 1997 - January 5, 1998), Somogy, 1997.
- BREME, Dominique, François de Troy, 1645-1730, (exp. cat., Toulouse, Paul Dupuy museum, April 7 - July 7, 1997), Paris, Somogy , 1997.
- KIRCHNER, Thomas, Ups and downs of portraiture in 17th century France, Paris, Fondation maison des sciences de l'homme German Center for Art History, 2022.