Attributed To Pierre Mignard - Portrait Of François-michel Le Tellier, Marquis Of Louvois

Attributed to Pierre MIGNARD (1612-1695)

Oval portrait of François-Michel Le Tellier, Marquis de Louvois (1641-1691)
One of the last portraits of Louvois as he approached his fifties c1690.
Intimate pose in a red silk dressing gown, of the protector and patron of Pierre Mignard.

Chief Minister of Louis XIV, he was appointed Secretary of War at the age of 15, he repressed the pillaging of soldiers by reorganizing the army. Very close to the King, he was at the same time superintendent of posts and buildings. Directing the construction of the Château de Versailles and founding the Hôtel des Invalides, he also had the country fortified by Vauban. The strict expression of this portrait faithfully reflects the rigor of character that made the reputation of this eminent statesman.

Painter to the King and accomplished portraitist, Pierre Mignard is one of the most famous French classical painters. He is responsible for about ten portraits of Louis XIV as well as the portraits of many personalities of the high nobility and writers and artists of the Grand Siècle.

This portrait is to be compared to the painting kept at the Museum of Fine Arts in Reims, which is a copy of a portrait of Louvois painted by Pierre Mignard in 1667. In our portrait we can notice a similar treatment by the artist of the eyebrows in bright hatched lines in a style identical to that drawing Molière's eyebrows in his intimate portrait of the writer painted in 1658.

The canvas and the pictorial layer are in good general condition with small restorations. The stretcher is more recent, with a 17th century period carved and gilded wooden frame with acanthus leaf decorations, with usual wear and its old patina.

Stretcher dimensions    H 74 cm L 60 cm D 2 cm      H 29" W 23.5" D 3/4"
Frame dimensions        H 90 cm L 77 cm D 6 cm      H 35.5" W 30.5" D 2.5"

Price:   18 000 €