Unique Known Painting By Eloy Fontaine From 1735, Collaborator Of Hyacinthe Rigaud

The only known painting to date by Eloy Fontaine, who collaborated with Hyacinthe Rigaud, the "Painter to Louis XIV," from 1701 to 1705.
This portrait of an "anonymous" woman has remained on its original canvas and on its old stretcher with studded crossbars. Presented in bust form, dressed in a full brown cloak trimmed with gold braid, the sitter wears a green velvet dress whose neckline, decorated with gold palm embroidery, ends at the bottom with a cabochon brooch.
The arrangement of the drapery is characteristic of Rigaud's school.
This style of dress and this composition are reminiscent of the compositions of other artists of the same period.
Dated and signed on the reverse: "Fontaine pinx 1735."

This canvas, framed in 18th-century giltwood, has been examined by the Heritage Curator, a Rigaud specialist.

Between 1698 and 1710, Rigaud gave free rein to Dupré, Melingue, Fontaine, Delaunay, Benevault, Leprieur, Bailleul, and La Penay, invaluable assistants whom he tirelessly employed on his own original works.
Born on June 4, 1678, in Amiens, it is unknown when he settled in Paris or from whom he learned his craft, but it is known that he worked with Rigaud from 1701 to 1705.
As early as 1701, Hyacinthe Rigaud surrounded himself with a new team, which included Eloy Fontaine (1678 - after 1747), a master painter at the Académie Saint-Luc.
Fontaine distinguished himself from the few painters with the same name by signing "Eligs, Fontaine Pinx" on the engraved plates of his works.
These works show us a successor and inheritor of Rigaud's models, achieving a high degree of mimicry.

This canvas is unique and therefore rare, because while drawings and engravings by this painter are known, no other paintings have been found to date.
However, we are aware of the works executed by Eloy Fontaine for Rigaud during these five years—more than 60 in total—with corresponding payment for each piece, including 25 depicting King Louis XIV and 6 busts and portraits of the King of Spain. These latter works have disappeared and remain untraceable.
This canvas has been cleaned and has undergone restoration on the left side.
Dimensions: Canvas: 79.5 x 63.5 cm; Frame: 97.5 x 81.5 cm