Old Portrait Of The French School Of The Seventeenth Century

Old portrait of the 17th century French school Refined portrait of a nobleman. The painting executed by an expert hand represents one of the Mancini sisters, with precision it is Anna Maria (Marie) Mancini, known at the court of LUIGI XIV under the name of MAZARINETTES. The writing on the board with the name MADAM DE LAMET (Du Lamet, mountain town in France), it could be a form of discretion used by a lover or secret admirer who wished to own the portrait of Anna Maria without creating an exact match with the person concerned. The pictorial technique places this painting in the Workshop of master Jacob Ferdinand Voet, known as portrait painter. The first canvas is accompanied by a contemporary frame, carved and gilded with leaf. Maria Mancini was born on August 28, 1639 and raised in Rome. His father was Baron Michele Lorenzo Mancini, an Italian aristocrat who was also a necromancer and astrologer, from a family originating in Tivoli. After her death in 1650, her mother, Geronima Mazarin, brought her and her sisters from Rome to Paris in the hope of using the influence of her brother, Cardinal Mazarin, and obtaining advantageous marriages. for them. The other Mancini sisters were: • Laura (1636 - 1657), the eldest, who married Louis de Bourbon, Duke of Vendôme, the nephew of King Henri IV and his mistress Gabrielle d'Estrées, and became the mother of the famous general French Louis Joseph, Duke of Vendôme, • Olimpia (1638 - 1708), who married Eugenio Maurizio di Savoia, Count of Soissons and became the mother of the famous Austrian general Eugenio di Savoia, • Ortensia (1646 - 1699), the beauty of the family, escaped her violent husband, Armand-Charles de la Porte, Duke of La Meilleraye, and went to London, where she became the mistress of King Charles II of England. • Maria Anna (1649 - 1714) married Godefroy Maurice de La Tour d'Auvergne, Duke of Bouillon, nephew of the famous Marshal Turenne. The Mancini were not the only female members of the family that Cardinal Mazarin brought to the French court. The others were Maria's first cousins, the daughters of Mazarin's older sister. The eldest, Laura Martinozzi, married Alfonso IV d'Este, Duke of Modena and was the mother of Maria Beatrice d'Este, second wife of James II of England. The youngest, Anna Maria Martinozzi, married Armando, Prince de Conti. Maria Mancini also had three brothers: Paul, Philippe and Alphonse. In France, the name of Anna Maria has been francized to Mary. "Dark, lively and beautiful", Maria captured the greatest prize of the court in France: the romantic love of Louis XIV. According to Antonia Fraser's biography The Loves of the Sun King, a horoscope predicts Mary's mother, Geronima, that Mary would be a source of worry and on her deathbed he asked Cardinal Mazarin "to lock up Mary forever. in a convent. ". Maria did not consummate her relationship with the Sun King, his love for her was something idealistic, but he was so infatuated that he wanted to marry her. In the end, Cardinal Mazarin and the young man's mother King, Anna of Austria, separated the couple, kidnapping Mary in exile and arranging for Louis to marry his cousin, Maria Teresa of Spain.