Pierre Gobert And His Workshop - Leopold Clement, Hereditary Prince Of Lorraine (1704 - 1723)

A fine 18th-century French portrait of a young nobleman traditionally identified as Leopold Clement, Hereditary Prince of Lorraine (Leopold Clement Charles; 25 April 1707 – 4 June 1723), by Pierre Gobert and his workshop. The attractive young sitter is painted in three-quarter view against a vast landscape. Her cheeks are rosy and her lips are rosebud-like. Her doe-like gaze greets the viewer with a soft, captivating expression. He wears a refined lace suit and a shimmering, richly embroidered hunting jacket. With one gloved hand on his hip, he holds his hat and with the other, his gilt-headed cane. Leopold Clement, Hereditary Prince of Lorraine (Leopold Clement Charles; 25 April 1707 – 4 June 1723) was the heir apparent to the throne of the Duchy of Lorraine. His father was the reigning Duke of Lorraine and his mother was a member of the House of Bourbon, then ruling the Kingdom of France. He became crown prince upon the death of his elder brother Louis in 1711, but died of smallpox in 1723, at the age of sixteen, unmarried and without issue. He was born at the Château de Lunéville to Leopold, Duke of Lorraine, and his wife Elisabeth Charlotte of Orléans. Leopold was his parents' third son. His elder brother, also Leopold (1699-1700), died at the age of eight months. Three other older siblings perished during a smallpox epidemic in Lunéville: Elisabeth Charlotte (1700-1711), Marie-Gabrièle Charlotte (1702-1711), and Louis (1704-1711). The smallpox epidemic had already claimed other members of the royal family, such as the Grand Dauphin and Holy Roman Emperor Joseph I. In 1722, Leopold also became heir to the Duchy of Teschen, given to his father as compensation for his maternal grandmother's claim to the Duchy of Montferrat in northern Italy, which Emperor Charles VI had taken and given to his allies, the Dukes of Savoy. In 1723, he was sent to Vienna to continue his studies under the supervision of Charles VI, his father's first cousin. His trip was also intended to forge an alliance between the Habsburgs and Lorraine through his marriage to Archduchess Maria Theresa. Shortly thereafter, the prince contracted smallpox in Lunéville and died quickly at the château. He was buried in the ducal crypt of the Church of Saint-François-des-Cordeliers in Nancy. His younger brother, Franz Stephen, became crown prince and later married Maria Theresa, heiress of the Habsburgs and future queen of Hungary and Bohemia. PIERRE GOBERT (1662-1744) Born in Fontainebleau, the son of the sculptor and engraver Jean Gobert II (1627-circa 1681), Pierre Gobert learned to paint in his father's studio and began working for the court at an early age. He spent most of his time in Paris and became a member of the Académie in 1701. His reputation as a portraitist to the court of Louis XIV is illustrated by the important collection at Versailles, which includes portraits of the Duchess of Maine, Anne-Lucie de la Mothe-Houdancourt, and the Duchess of Burgundy. Among his many male portraits is a portrait of Louis XV as a child. Gobert exhibited at the Salon of 1704 and 1737. From 1707 to 1709, the artist settled in Lunéville to work for the court of Lorraine, where he painted an impressive collection of seventy portraits, including that of Leopold, Duke of Lorraine, and his wife Élisabeth-Charlotte d'Orléans. This remarkable work, in excellent condition, is presented ready to hang and admire in its original 18th-century frame, of fine quality, beautifully regilded. High-resolution images on request. International delivery possible. Canvas: 86 cm x 67 cm. Framed: 105 cm x 85 cm.