Portrait Of A Woman Looking Left

This charming portrait of an elegantly dressed young woman wearing a flower necklace on her chest poses, beyond the identity of the model that we do not know, a problem of attribution. Is it by Jean-Baptiste Massé, as we suggest, or by Jacques-André Portail, as is written on the back of the drawing? Or should we explore another avenue, as suggested by Mr. Xavier Salmon, whose opinion I had sought? In the absence of new information, and on the basis of two other portraits of women in the Louvre collections*, we will attribute ours to Massé. *"Portrait of a young woman, her head covered with a veil" and "Portrait of a young woman, her head bare" Jean-Baptiste Massé (1687-1767) was a painter, draftsman, engraver and miniaturist. A student of Jean Jouvenet, he was accepted into the Royal Academy in 1714, received in 1717 and then elected councilor in 1740. Praised by Voltaire, Massé painted Louis XV and the royal family on several occasions. Between 1723 and 1753, he coordinated the reproduction of the paintings of Charles Le Brun, which decorated the Grand Gallery and the Peace and War salons of the Palace of Versailles. Massé executed or corrected all the drawings himself and then had them engraved by the best artists of the time. Details: - Red chalk, black pencil, white chalk highlights and slight stump. - Framed. - Small stain at the bottom left. - Formerly attributed to Jacques-André Portail (1695-1759).