French School, Early 17th Century – Portrait Of Marie Adélaïde Of Savoy, Duchess Of Burgundy

Superb oil on canvas, French school circa early 17th century, depicting Marie Adélaïde of Savoy (1685-1712), Duchess of Burgundy and Dauphine of France. The painting measures 81 x 65 cm on the stretcher and 100 x 83 cm with the frame. It is presented in a 19th century giltwood frame, finely carved with floral motifs, which highlights the richness of this portrait. The young princess is depicted in her early years, adorned with a flower necklace, according to a court fashion then widespread. Her dress is decorated with golden fleurs-de-lis, a royal heraldic attribute found on other known portraits of the dauphine. This portrait can thus be compared to certain official effigies, in which Marie Adélaïde appears idealized and magnified, as the future queen of France. A few minor, older restorations are worth noting, discreet and stable, which in no way alter the strength of the subject or the elegance of the whole. Marie Adélaïde de Savoie, born in Turin in 1685, was the daughter of Victor-Amédée II, Duke of Savoy, and Anne-Marie d'Orléans, niece of Louis XIV. Married very young (at 12 years old) to the grandson of the Sun King, the Duke of Burgundy, she became Dauphine of France and was destined to reign as queen. Loved at court for her lively wit and charm, she played an important political and diplomatic role with the king. But her fate was tragic: she died in 1712 at the age of 26, shortly after her husband and her two sons. Only the last, the future Louis XV, survived. This portrait is therefore a rare testimony to the youth of the future Dauphine, whose beauty and destiny marked the history of France.