Atelier of FRANÇOIS HYACINTHE RIGAUD (Perpignan, 1659-1743).
"Portrait of Marie Casimira.
Oil on canvas.
Size: 130 x 104 cm.
The psychological capture of deep character in the look, the point of view represented in the scene, the sumptuousness in the details of the clothes and objects, and the use of the colours between lights and shadows allow us to place the author of this work in an environment close to the school of the great French painter Hyacinthe Rigaud (1659-1743), one of the best portrait painters associated to the era of Louis XIV. He made an outstanding contribution to French painting from 1688 onwards. He was particularly noted for his portrait art, depicting members of the French royal family. Notable, for example, is his famous state portrait of "Louis XIV at Coronation Robes" (1701, Louvre, Paris), one of the finest Baroque paintings of the French court. Rigaud's broad, vigorous style and the way he relied on the nobility of posture and splendour of his models were the basis of his success. Indeed, he is the creator of an original genre, that of the "portrait of pomp" which spread through the European courts of the first half of the 18th century. Examples of his great output can be seen in some of the finest art museums in Europe and North America. For details of other famous artists and master craftsmen active in France during his day, see: French Baroque Artists (c.1600-1700) and French Decorative Designers (c.1640-1792). The pictorial quality of the work is superb. It shows great mastery of the portrait genre. It is thought to have been executed in Rigaud's own workshop, which, due to the multitude of royal and noble commissions at the time, had a large number of artists in its employ who worked on the completion of these portraits. Marie-Casimira Louise De La Grange was known by the nickname of "Marysie?ka". She was born in Nevers (centre of France) on 28 June 1641 and died in Blois (France) on 1 January 1716.) She was Queen consort of Poland and Grand Duchess consort of Lithuania as the wife of John III of Poland from 1674 to 1696. She was the daughter of Henri Albert De La Grange d'arquien and Françoise de La Châtre.