Portrait of a Young Princess, French School, circa 1680, Circle of Pierre Mignard (1612–1695)

Oil on oval canvas. French School, circa 1680, circle of Pierre Mignard.

Our delightful painting, of remarkable freshness, perfectly embodies the charm and refinement of French portraiture during the reign of Louis XIV. The precious quality of this painting lies in the fact that we are in the presence of an original work depicting a woman whose youthful face is of great softness: velvety modelling, perfectly blended transitions, and a rosy, slightly pearlescent complexion. This is not yet another workshop copy of portraits of the royal family, but rather the portrait of a young aristocratic woman whose identity remains to be established.

Our painter, clearly trained within the circle of Pierre Mignard, masters the elegant and luminous aesthetic that made the fashionable court portraits of the period so renowned.

The red ribbons enlivening the hair, the carmine bodice edged with fine lace and adorned with jewels, and the yellow stole covering a pink blouse with blue sleeves, form an attractive costume, giving the image an intimate, almost confidential character. There is none here of the dramatic tension or Roman chiaroscuro: the light is frontal, even and caressing. Above all, the painter seeks grace, harmony and the enhancement of the face, all characteristic features of Mignard’s followers active in Paris around 1700.

The oval format, highly prized in private apartments, further enhances the precious character of the work. The quality of its preservation, the freshness of the colours and the elegance of the composition make this a particularly attractive portrait, representative of French taste at the end of the Grand Siècle.

Our portrait is presented in its original Louis XIV-period carved and giltwood frame.

Dimensions: 33 x 26.5 cm – 45.5 x 38 cm with the frame

Biography:

Pierre Mignard (Troyes 1612 – Paris 1695) was the brother of Nicolas (known as Nicolas Mignard of Avignon), who was also a painter. Like Valentin de Boulogne, Michel Dorigny, Charles Le Brun and Eustache Le Sueur, he was a pupil of Simon Vouet. Nicknamed “the Roman” because he spent many years in Rome, Pierre Mignard is considered one of the finest colourists of his time.

Louis XIV recalled him from Italy in 1657 to entrust him with the decoration of the dome of the Val-de-Grâce and the Petite Galerie at Versailles. After the death of Charles Le Brun, he was appointed First Painter to the King and Director of the Academy of Painting. Pierre Mignard excelled in portrait painting and distinguished himself through the naturalness and truthfulness of expression of his figures.

Bibliography:

* AUBERT Jean, Visages du Grand Siècle: le portrait français sous le règne de Louis XIV, 1660-1715, (cat. Expo., Nantes, Musée des beaux-arts, 20 juin - 15 septembre 1997, Toulouse, Musée des Augustins, 8 octobre 1997 - 5 janvier 1998), Somogy, 1997.
* KIRCHNER Thomas, Heurs et malheurs du portrait dans la France du XVIIe siècle, Paris, Fondation maison des sciences de l’homme Centre allemand d’histoire de l’art, 2022.
* BAJOU Thierry, La peinture à Versailles XVIIe siècle, Réunion des Musées Nationaux 1998
* BOYER Jean-Claude, Pierre Mignard le Romain, Documentation Française Editions 1997
* LEROUX Flavie, VAYSSE Elodie, Versailles: un château au féminin, Paris, Réunion des musées nationaux, 2022.