Large Portrait Of Marie-anne-victoire Of Bavaria By François De Troy, Circa 1685, 17th French

Large ceremonial portrait of Marie-Anne-Victoire de Bavière by François de Troy, circa 1685
Late 17th century French school
By François de Troy (Toulouse, 1645 - Paris, 1730) and his workshop

Oil on canvas: h: 216 cm, l. 151 cm
Gilded and moulded wood frame
Framed dimensions: h. 237 cm, l. 170 cm

We would like to thank Mr. Dominique Brême, director of the Musée du Domaine Départemental de Sceaux and François de Troy specialist, for kindly confirming the attribution of this work to the artist and his workshop through a visual examination.

Provenance:
- probably from the Château de Versailles, royal collection before 1737, (the painting mentioned in the inventory of the Crown collections (see bibliography))
- auction sale, Paris, Palais d'Orsay, Etude Couturier Nicolay, December 7, 1979, no. 23 (as French school circa 1700, Portrait de Marie-Adélaïde de Savoie, Duchesse de Bourgogne);
- ex collection of former French President Valérie Giscard d'Estaing and his wife in their private mansion in Paris, rue Bénouville

Related works:
Portrait mid-thigh, Château de Versailles, after François de Troy (h. 138 cm, l. 120 cm) inv MV2086

Bibliography:
Fernand Engerand, “Inventaires des collections de la Couronne: Inventaire des tableaux du roy rédigé en 1709 et 1710 par Nicolas Bailly”, Paris, 1899, p. 465
Dominique Brême, 'François de Troy', exhibition catalogue, Toulouse, Musée Paul-Dupuy, 1997, p. 41

This spectacular portrait of the Grand Dauphine, Marie Anne Victoire of Bavaria, wife of Louis of France, known as the Grand Dauphin, remained for decades in the collection of Giscard d'Estaing without any light being shed on her true identity or on the artist who painted it.
However, this portrait was mentioned in 1997 by Dominique Brême in his book devoted to François de Troy. Without knowing its location, the historian, upon discovering it in the 1979 sales catalogue, re-established the identity of the young woman as well as the authorship of the work.
Since the painting has been rediscovered, the identity of the model and its author remains the last enigma to be solved as to its possible belonging to the royal collection.
Indeed our portrait corresponds perfectly to the description given in the inventory of the Crown collections written by N. Bailly in 1709, namely: "the portrait of Madame la Dauphine de Bavière, full-length, dressed in her royal mantle; her hand is resting on the crown of France which is placed on a table, covered with a red velvet carpet; figure as if from nature; being 7 feet high by 5 feet wide; in its golden border".
However, given the lack of provenance prior to the 1979 public sale, we cannot state with certainty that this is indeed the same portrait, given that it is highly likely that François de Troy was able to execute several autograph replicas of this highly important royal commission.
Even in the absence of certainty as to its provenance from the Château de Versailles, the portrait constitutes an invaluable testimony in the history of France, but also in the corpus and career of François de Troy.
Despite the fact that the Château de Versailles preserves a mid-thigh replica after François de Troy of our portrait, there remains in neither private nor public collections any ceremonial portrait of the Dauphine, in particular painted by a first-rank portraitist.
Nevertheless, it is obvious that the Dauphine must have benefited from significant visual communication, being destined to reign over France. Her only large-format effigy is that depicted in the "Famille du Grand Dauphin" by Pierre Mignard in 1688, commissioned by Louis XIV. In contrast to our work which presents her as "almost queen", Pierre Mignard's painting focuses on the young woman's family intimacy and the assured descendants for the Bourbon line and does not constitute a ceremonial portrait in the strict sense of the word.
Our portrait, probably made after 1683, following the death of Marie Thérèse of Austria, positions the Dauphine as the future queen of France.
Portraitd full-length, the sumptuously dressed young woman stands near an entablature covered in red velvet fringed with gold. Her solemn attitude is reinforced by the presence behind her figure of a heavy red curtain which opens onto a park of a castle in the background.
Attached by clasps of precious stones to the shoulders, a heavy royal coat of azure blue velvet embroidered with fleurs-de-lys and lined with ermine fur envelops her figure. Her dress embroidered with gold and silver threads decorated with leafy scrolls and flowers, enriched with precious stones and pearls is the very symbol of the magnificence of the future sovereign.
This opulence of dress contrasts with the apparent simplicity of her hairstyle. Curly brown hair frames her oblong face illuminated by large brown eyes with a benevolent gaze.
In a formal gesture, she places her hand on the royal crown of France, while with another hand, she points to a small spaniel emerging from its kennel covered with richly embroidered fabric. The presence of the dog, traditionally a symbol of fidelity in iconography, adds a picturesque touch to the codified character of the whole, especially since the animal is accompanied by two green parrots ready to peck at the remains of its meal.
Magnified by a rich palette dominated by crimson reds of the fabrics contrasting with the intense blue of the coat, the golden reflections of the dress match the gold of the crown and the trimmings.
François de Troy gives us here the ceremonial portrait par excellence in accordance with the splendor of the reign of Louis XIV, however the search for a certain relaxation by introducing animals brings out the undeniable influence of Anthony Van Dyck.

Marie-Anne Christine Victory of Bavaria (1660-1690)
Marie Anne Christine Victoire Josèphe Bénédicte Rosalie Petronille of Bavaria, born Maria Anna Christina Victoria von Bayern, was a Bavarian princess born on November 28, 1660 in Munich and died in Versailles on April 20, 1690.
Eldest daughter of Elector Ferdinand-Marie of Bavaria and Henriette of Savoy, Marie-Anne of Bavaria, at the age of eight, was promised to her cousin Louis of France called the "Grand Dauphin", who was seven (1668).
In view of such a brilliant destiny, the future Queen of France received a very careful education. In addition to her mother tongue, German, she spoke French and Italian fluently, and knew Latin. She expressed her joy and pride at becoming Dauphine of France very early on.
After her marriage, Marie-Anne became the second most important woman at court after her mother-in-law, Queen Maria Theresa, wife of King Louis XIV.

François de Troy (Toulouse 1645 – Paris 1730)
François de Troy, from a family of Toulouse artists, made a name for himself very early on with the creation of coats of arms for the solemn entry of the Prince of Conti into Toulouse in 1662. He was then found in Paris where he continued his training in the studio of Nicolas Loir, then of Jean I Cotelle, whose daughter he married in 1668. Initially a history painter, he was accepted into the Academy in 1671 and then received in 1674 with “Mercury and Argus”. Through his attendance at Claude Lefebvre’s studio, he turned to the art of portraiture, of which he would be one of the greatest representatives at the end of the reign of Louis XIV and the Regency. It is believed that through his friendship with Charles Le Brun, the King's first painter, he was put in contact with Madame de Montespan, who made him one of her regular artists. The impetuous favourite's connections allowed him to come into contact with the royal family and everyone who mattered at court and in Paris. He was also the portraitist of the English royal family, exiled in France to the Château de Saint-Germain-en-Laye from 1689. A fine courtier, François de Troy then became attached to the Duke of Maine, Louis XIV's beloved bastard, and his influential wife, daughter of the Prince of Condé. Assistant professor in 1692, he was appointed professor at the Academy the following year. He was its director from 1708 to 1711. He was also solicited several times by the Parisian aldermen for religious commissions. His son Jean-François (1679 – 1752) worked with him at the end of his career before taking up the torch and perpetuating the family glory.