Elisabeth De Thomassin - Attributed To Henri Gascard (1635 - 1701)

Oil on its original canvas.
As if to escape the viewer's eye, the countess takes a sidelong glance, scanning a distant horizon on her right. We are not in the presence of a simple portrait of pageantry but rather of a psychological portrait which makes it possible to underline the depth of its model. So a quote from 19th century American naturalist poet David Henry Thoreau would perfectly define Gascard's composition: "Talent only indicates depth of character in a certain direction."
Belonging to an old Burgundian line settled in Provence since the 15th century, Elisabeth de Thomassin, née Blanchet (as the inscription in ink on the back of the canvas specifies), is dressed in a bodice (or whale body ) of white silk embroidered with gold threads. Equally luxurious is the pale pink coat that covers her shoulders. And as if to assert her rank and recall her level of wealth, she wears a rare pearl pearl in her ear. In addition to the determined temperament that we evoked above, one would believe to guess a certain melancholy in the expression of the young countess.
Our portrait is presented in a carved and gilded wood and paste frame decorated with 19th century foliage and shells.

Dimensions: 71 x 57 cm - 93 x 78 cm with the frame
Sold with invoice and certificate of expertise

The House of Thomassin is a noble family from Burgundy, known from the 15th century and settled in Provence. This family formed several branches, the main one being that of the Marquis de Saint-Paul who gave eight advisers and a president to the Parliament of Aix, two advisers and four advocates general to the Provence court of accounts.

Henri Gascard (Paris 1635 - Rome 1701) (Gascar or Gascars) is the son of the painter and sculptor Pierre Gascard. Over the years, he forged a solid reputation and moved to England in 1674. Probably under the patronage of King Charles II's favorite, Louise de Keroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth, he experienced consecration. During his stay in England, he produced many portraits of the aristocracy at court. At the turn of the year 1680, in the turmoil left by the papist plot and in a deleterious anticatholic climate, he returned to Paris. On October 26 of that same year, he was received at the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. Finally, he puts his brushes in Rome where he pursues a rich career.