Portrait of Marquise de Montespan by François de Troy

Marquise de Montespan,
François de Troy (1645 – 1730)
17th century French school, circa 1675-1680
Oil on canvas in oval shape, dim. h. 76 cm, w. 57 cm
A Louis XIV large giltwood frame (later regilt)
Framed: h. 98 cm, l. 78 cm

Our portrait has been examined by Mr. Dominique Brême, a specialist in François de Troy, which he will include in the artist's catalogue raisonné currently being prepared.

Sumptuous portrait of King Louis XIV's favourite mistress between 1667 and 1683, Françoise Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Marquise de Montespan (1640-1707).
Known for her dazzling beauty, she is portrayed here as a bust, her head slightly turned to the right, her face expression full of pride brushing against the insolence so characteristic of her effigies.
She looks at the viewer with her large azure blue eyes with slightly lowered eyelids, which gives her a languid look, accentuated by a sensual mouth. Her mass of curly blonde hair is casually tied back by a string of pearls, and lets out a curly lock that falls over her shoulder.
She is dressed in a white blouse adorned with lace revealing a plunging neckline and a beautiful satin stole in an intense blue. Carelessly held in place by a clasp of glittering jewels, the ends of the scarf barely fit on her shoulders. Her loose fabrics, ready to slip and reveal the charms of the young woman, combined with the spontaneity of the pose and the apparent simplicity, bring a frivolous lightness to the whole.
Far from the classic ceremonial portrait, the painter gives us here an intimate and voluptuous version of the king's mistress.
Our portrait is to be compared with the portrait of the Marquise de Montespan kept at the Palace of Versailles (inv. MV4265, oil on canvas 69 cm x 57 cm), a rather simplified version, particularly in the treatment of the face and hair as well as the colour of the greyish dress, which probably indicates a copy of an original portrait by Mignard.
Another version is listed by Neil Jeffares in his Dictionary of Pastellists (online). It is an 18th cnetury pastel, a copy after Pierre Mignard.
These information allows us to assume the existence of an original portrait by Pierre Mignard, our version in the bright blue colors typical of the artist would be a studio variant.

Pierre Mignard
French painter (Troyes 1612-Paris 1695). A pupil of Vouet, he worked in Italy, especially in Rome, from 1635 to 1657, before moving to Paris at the request of Louis XIV; he then executed several commissions, such as the dome of Val-de-Grâce (1663). A renowned portraitist, he knew how to flatter the model, but also to mix expression with grace in light and fresh tones, the opposite of Le Brun's majesty. On the death of his rival (1690), he succeeded him as first painter to the king and director of the Gobelins factory.