Portrait Of Fernand VI Of Spain (1713 – 1759) – French School Of The 18th Century

Oil on copper. French school of the 18th century, follower of Jean Ranc. Great-grandson of Louis XIV, the young and handsome Fernand de Bourbon et Savoie is portrayed half-length, three-quarters facing. Barely twelve years old, the future King of Spain wears the costume of a military commander with breastplate and helmet. Our precious cabinet painting is in conformity with the painting commissioned in 1725 by King Philip V from Jean Ranc, a painting now kept in the Prado Museum. Our replica perfectly illustrates the art of pageantry and color and its qualities are real. Fernand VI, who reigned from 1746 until his death, led financial and military reforms, revived trade, established factories, dug canals, reestablished the navy, promoted studies, created several universities and founded the Royal Academy of Fine Arts Saint-Ferdinand. At the end of his reign, despite these expenses, the coffers of Spain were full, something that had not been seen for three centuries.

In its French frame in carved and gilded wood from the Louis XIII period
Dimensions: 25.5 x 20 cm - 40.5 x 34 cm with the frame
Sold with invoice and certificate of expertise.

Biography: Jean Ranc (Montpellier 1674 - Madrid 1735) is the son of the Montpellier painter Antoine Ranc (1634 - 1716), who was the teacher of Hyacinthe Rigaud (1659 - 1743) who was in turn the master of Jean Ranc. This will give birth to a solid friendship between the two families and a quasi filiation; Jean Ranc will in fact marry Marguerite Elisabeth Rigaud, daughter of the painter Gaspard Rigaud and niece of Hyacinthe. Having settled in Paris in 1696, Jean Ranc worked in Rigaud's studio and his art showed a certain mimicry with that of his elder. On July 28, 1703, he was received at the Academy as a portrait painter, notably with the portrait of Nicolas van Plattenberg, known as "Platte-Montagne". Now established, he found his audience among the Parisian bourgeoisie and produced a large number of paintings whose style was close to that of his teacher. His consecration came in 1722, when Philip V, grandson of Louis XIV and first king of the Bourbon dynasty of Spain, called on his services to paint portraits of members of the royal family.