"Presumed Portrait Of Ninon De Lenclos - Louis Ferdinand Elle The Father C. 1640"
Oil on prepared panel. French school around 1640 attributed to Louis Ferdinand Elle le Père (1612 - 1689)With a graceful gesture, an elegant woman half-opens a velvet curtain with soft lines, revealing a landscape at sunrise. The poetic character of the composition is reinforced by the light wind which, emanating from the opening, causes the rich fabrics in which this lady is dressed to twirl. Her sumptuous dress is completed with a bow and a quiver, these attributes making her a goddess of the hunt. The physiological similarities between our model and the Portrait of Ninon de Lenclos, painted by Louis Elle “le Père” around 1650 (kept in the Versailles museum), suggest that it could be a representation of this famous courtesan and woman of letters.
If the portraitist's know-how lies in his ability to reveal the spirit of his model, then this painting is a success, as it reflects the intimate character of Ninon de Lenclos (1620 – 1705) whose representation as Diana conveys the idea of a huntress of hearts. About her, the poet Gédéon Tallemant des Réaux reported that she distinguished her lovers into three classes: "the payers about whom she hardly cared, and whom she only suffered until she had what to do without it”, “the martyrs” who had no chance, and “the favorites” who won his favors. Could the Grand Condé, who was one of them, be the sponsor of our painting? If the British novelist Horace Walpole went so far as to nickname her “Our Lady of Love”, Ninon de Lenclos was not just a lover. In fact, she held a salon from 1667 where the great minds of her time met, such as La Fontaine, Racine and Lully.
Attributed to Louis Ferdinand Elle “the Father”, our presumed portrait of Ninon de Lenclos can be compared to a set of small oils on panel, of the same format and with similar compositions, which were attributed to him by the Musée du Château de Versailles . Dated between 1640 and 1660, these paintings represent important court figures, such as Marshal Abraham Fabert d'Esternay, Charles Paris d'Orléans as Hercules and Jean-Louis Charles d'Orléans as Perseus. From his Flemish origin, Louis Ferdinand Elle has retained a certain concern for the representation of materials to which he gives relief and radiance. The quick hint of white that he sketches in the eyes of his model gives him a mischievous air that we find several times in other female portraits that he made (Portrait of Mme de Maintenon and her niece de 1688, preserved at Versailles).
We have chosen to present this delicate portrait in a 17th century French frame in carved and gilded wood decorated with acanthus leaves and rolled ribbons.
Dimensions: 33.5 x 25 cm – 48 x 40 cm with frame
Biography: Louis Elle, known as “Ferdinand the Father” (Paris, 1612 – Id. Dec. 12, 1689) is the son of the court painter, Ferdinand Elle, from whom he learned painting. Becoming a founding member of the Academy in 1648, he took charge of the family workshop following the death of his father in 1649. Becoming a professor at the Academy in 1659, he emancipated himself from his father's style by producing more dynamic portraits. against a landscape background, in which the models are represented as mythological figures. Having enjoyed certain success, his clients included important personalities from the court of Louis XIV, foremost among them Grande Mademoiselle, Madame de la Fayette and Marie-Louise d'Orléans.
Bibliography :
Le Magazine
Rivista Artiquariato
TRÉSORS magazine
