Portrait Of A Man In Armor, Circa 1680, French School, Circle Of Joseph Vivien.

Presented in its beautiful 17th century oval frame, in carved wood with its original gilding. Total dimensions: 95 x 80 cm. The canvas: 74 x 58 cm This elegant portrait represents a young prince in armor. The painter portrayed him from the bust on a dark background in order to make him stand out in the light. He wears an imposing wig, particularly long and full, which allows us to date this painting from the end of the 17th century. His gaze with blue eyes is lively and determined. The pictorial qualities and the beauty of the character make this painting a rare and precious testimony to the art of portraiture under Louis XIV. Joseph VIVIEN, French painter (Lyon 1657 – Bonn 1734). From 1672, he was a student of Bonnemer in Paris and evolved in the entourage of Le Brun. Although he executed some religious paintings (now lost), he specialized in portraiture, most often in pastel, and, as such, was received at the Academy: Portrait of Girardon and Portrait of Robert de Cotte (1698-99, Louvre). He now devoted a good part of his activity to the courts of Cologne and Bavaria (numerous portraits of princes preserved in Munich: Alte Pin., Residence, Schleissheim). His oil paintings are rare, the most important is the allegory of the Reunion of Max-Emmanuel of Bavaria with his family (1715-1733, Munich, Alte Pin.). His official portraits, with their pronounced and somewhat monotonous features, show a certain stiffness, which disappears in the effigies of people of a lower rank (Fénelon, 1713, Versailles; Samuel Bernard, 1699, Rouen Museum; probably his masterpiece) or of artists (Self-portrait, 1730, Munich, Alte Pin.; 1699, Offices; Portrait of a Painter, 1698, Louvre; Hardouin-Mansart, Hermitage). Vivien established with Rosalba Carriera the fashion for pastel portraits, which were to enjoy great success throughout the century.