18th century Still Life with red-legged partridge Attributed to Alexandre-François Desportes (1661-1743)

This French oil on canvas, dating from the early 18th century, depicts a red-legged partridge suspended above a console on which are arranged six peaches, a melon and a porcelain pot à oille.

The palette, dominated by brown and ochre tones, is enlivened by the orange hues of the fruit and plumage, together with the delicate celadon-green tones of the porcelain. The painting displays a particularly appealing interplay of light, subtly highlighting the textures and surfaces of the various elements.

Alexandre-François Desportes was a French painter specialising in animal painting, still lifes and hunting scenes. He trained under the painter Nicasius Bernaerts (1620–1678), himself a pupil of Frans Snyders (1579–1657). Through Bernaerts, Desportes absorbed the pictorial traditions of the great Flemish masters. He subsequently worked for a time at the Gobelins manufactory before becoming portraitist to the Polish court. Upon returning to France, he was admitted to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture as a peintre d’animaux (animal painter).

Both Louis XIV and Louis XV commissioned numerous works from Desportes for their royal residences, including Versailles, Marly, Meudon, Compiègne and Choisy. Today, his paintings can be found in major French collections, notably the Louvre Museum, the Museum of Hunting and Nature in Paris, and the Château de Compiègne.