Pierre Mignard And The Portrait Studio Of Madame De Montespan.

Pierre Mignard and Atelier, portrait of the seductive Madame de Montespan in a blue drape, her hair adorned with forget-me-not flowers.
Oil on canvas, 66.5 x 54.5 cm.
Framed in carved wood with flowers and a holly leaf, gilded with gold leaf, 78 x 65 cm.

An influential favorite (1640-1707).
Mistress of Louis XIV in 1667, the Marquise de Montespan arrived at court thanks to Anne of Austria. This woman of dazzling beauty, feared by courtiers thanks to the famous "Mortemart wit" that characterized her family, wielded considerable influence over court life. Passionate about the arts and protected by the king, she occupied an apartment near his before being ousted around 1680 by Madame de Maintenon and leaving Versailles permanently in 1691.