Portrait Of The Princess Of Conti - Attributed To Louis Ferdinand The Younger (1648-1717)

Portrait of the Princess of Conti - Attributed to Louis Ferdinand Elle the Younger (1648-1717)
Late 17th century French school
Oil on canvas, h. 100 cm, l. 80 cm
Important Louis XIV period frame in gilded and carved wood,
Framed: h. 122 cm, l. 102 cm

Presumed portrait of the Princess of Conti, Marie-Thérèse de Bourbon-Condé (Paris, 1666-1732).

The young woman is portrayed seated, seen half-legged leaning on a stone entablature covered with red velvet fabric fringed with gold. Her head turned towards the viewer, her gaze pensive and serene, her cheeks slightly rosy, she shyly sketches a half-smile. She grasps a rose in her right hand, which a young servant presents to her in a basket filled with flowers. Her hair is styled according to the fashion of the end of the century "à la Fontange"; brown hair is pulled back, held by a ribbon adorned with a pearl, two strands frame the forehead, large curls fall on her shoulders. She is dressed in a white blouse, a green silk bustier decorated with trimmings and a white skirt with pearly reflections. She is partially wrapped in a large crimson satin coat embroidered with gold thread, one side of which she lifts with an elegant gesture to draw attention to the richness of the fabric lined with gray satin, which magnifies the sumptuousness of her costume. She is installed in a loggia of a palace against a backdrop of autumnal foliage and a blue sky laden with gray clouds. We see a palace lit by a warm light. An intense light concentrated on the model contrasts with the dark background, the whiteness of the young woman's complexions are highlighted as well as her fresh complexion with a silky finish. The fabrics benefit from careful treatment in the finesse of lace and embroidery, combined with skillful brushstrokes to model the luminous ridges of the folds of the fabrics. The mannered gestures coupled with the innate elegance of the young princess, enliven the portrait.

Related work by Louis Ferdinand Elle the Younger (1648-1717)
- portrait of Elisabeth Charlotte of Orléans, circa 1685, oil on canvas, (134*103 cm) kept at the State Museum of Lower Saxony in Hanover (inv. KM285)

Louis Ferdinand Elle the Younger (1648-1717)
The painter to the king of France, member of the royal academy of painting and sculpture. Son of Louis Elle Ferdinand the Elder (1612-1689), he began his apprenticeship in the studio of his father, established on rue Mazarine in Paris, a renowned portrait painter, who worked for the court of France and the nobility. He was presented to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture on March 28, 1676 and approved on August 1, 1681. Protestant like his father, they did not escape the political hardening following the revocation of the Edict of Nantes and were forced to renounce their faith. This tense political climate, and the death of his father in 1689, were probably the factors that caused his departure from Paris in 1695 and his settlement in Rennes, Brittany, where he continued his career as a painter with local clients.