Portrait Of Nicolas De Largillierre, After The Original Kept At The Palace Of Versailles.

An interesting and faithful old copy of the famous self-portrait by Nicolas de Largillierre (1656–1746), preserved at the Château de Versailles. On the reverse is a handwritten inscription: > “Copy made by Mme René de Marolles at the Château de Versailles” This mention identifies the author as Athénaïs de Saint-Martin (1841–1922), wife of René Martin de Marolles (1838–1914), a cavalry officer from an illustrious family from Berry. Daughter of Amédée Gabriel de Saint-Martin, knight of the Order of Saint John of Jerusalem, and Eugénie Louise Marie Le Vaillant du Châtelet, Athénaïs belonged to a cultured and refined lineage. The couple, married in Versailles on October 24, 1864, lived there in the 1860s and 1870s: it was probably during this period, under the Second Empire, that she executed this copy from life at the Château de Versailles, as part of the museum's official program of reproducing masterpieces. Artistic analysis: This portrait is based on the composition painted by Largillierre in 1711, an autograph replica of which is preserved at the Musée Cantonal des Beaux-Arts in Lausanne. The artist represents himself holding a mechanical pencil loaded with red chalk and white chalk, a portfolio of drawings, and indicating with a broad gesture a sketch of Annunciation. With this gesture, he asserts his dual status as a history painter and a virtuoso portraitist, while exalting the superiority of the portrait, a genre in which he excelled. The warm palette, the soft complexions, and the theatricality of the gesture place the work in the full Rococo aesthetic, inherited from the Grand Siècle and enthusiastically rediscovered in the 19th century. Athénaïs de Saint-Martin's copy restores these qualities with sensitivity and precision, demonstrating a skillful hand and a true understanding of Largillierre's style. Context: female copyists in the 19th century: Athénaïs's work is part of the tradition of the approved copyists of the Louvre and Versailles, including a high proportion of women from the nobility or the educated bourgeoisie. These artists obtained official authorizations to copy the museums' masterpieces, often early in the morning, before they opened to the public. The Heritage Book of the Nouvelle-Aquitaine Region (“Ladies’ Works: Copies Made at the Louvre in the 19th Century”, 2017) recalls that between the Second Empire and the Third Republic, women represented almost half of the copyists – a phenomenon considered today as one of the first female conquests in the field of arts. Athénaïs de Saint-Martin, by her education, her background and her residence in Versailles, is fully part of this movement. Frame: Beautiful Regency period frame in carved oak, decorated with shells and foliage, with a honey-gold and brown patina, in perfect harmony with the nobility of the subject. Dimensions: Canvas: 81 × 65 cm Frame: 101 × 84 cm Condition and restoration: Report prepared by Carole Lambert, Curator-Restorer of Painted Heritage, accredited by the Musée de France (report dated 02/09/2024). Sound canvas, without tears or gaps; 19th century stretcher in good condition; lightened varnish, cleaned back and complete preservation of the original inscription. Provenance: Martin de Marolles family, Château des Fontaines (Allouis, Cher), former family home since the 18th century, where Anne-Émilie de Beaucorps-Créquy and her son René Martin de Marolles resided. Acquired near Bourges, probably from the family heritage transmitted by direct descent. Comment: Created around 1870, during the Second Empire, by Athénaïs de Saint-Martin, wife of René de Marolles, this canvas testifies to the erudite and refined practice of the women copyists of Versailles. Coming directly from the family Château des Fontaines, it illustrates the meeting between the prestige of the 18th century French portrait and the 19th century scholarly taste for the transmission of the national pictorial heritage. A historical and artistic document of rare heritage interest.