Portrait Of Nicolas Boileau (1636 - 1711), By François De Troy (1645 - 1730) Or His Workshop
Artist: François De Troy (toulouse, 1645 - Paris 1730) Ou Son Atelier
Portrait of Nicolas Boileau (1636–1711)
Oil painting on its original canvas (remounted on a 19th-century stretcher)
29.5 x 20 cm
Inscription in capital letters on the stretcher: “Portrait of BOILEAU”
Good condition (minor maintenance repainting)
In a beautiful period Louis XIII frame in natural wood carved with laurel leaves
Related work : Workshop of François de Troy, Portrait of Nicolas Boileau. Oil on canvas, 81 x 61 cm. Saint-Cloud, Musée du Grand Siècle.
“Boileau knew how to replace Horace,
He alone knew how to replace both Persius and Juvenal,
But who will ever fill the place of this unparalleled author?”
Quatrain appearing on the engraving of a portrait of Boileau by Hyacinthe Rigaud.
Bozzetto or ricordo? Original study for a portrait or beautiful replica to preserve the memory of the painting once it was delivered? Whatever its origin, our painting is a reduced version of the Boileau portrait acquired in 2022 by the Musée du Grand Siècle as "French school" and since attributed to the workshop of François de Troy. The lace collar is more quickly suggested in our version, and its composition is simpler: the hand holding the blue moiré lapel of the cloak in a somewhat artificial manner is absent. The face is consistent with the Saint-Cloud portrait, but more finely modeled despite its small size, with more subtle contrasts of light and shadow. The eye sparkles more, reinforcing an impression of mischievous intelligence.
Although the canvas is rectangular, our portrait is set in an oval – the lower part of the oval being outlined in yellow. Significantly, the black background surrounding the wig and cloak is slightly thicker than the subject, and its texture is less smooth, almost granular. This background does not correspond to a 19th-century restoration. It is possible that the black pigment evolved differently. However, let us hypothesize that this was a study (from life?), limited by nature to the essential elements of the portrait, and that it was transformed into a painting by the addition of a plain background.
This psychologically insightful effigy certainly complements the iconography of the author of *L'Art poétique*. Already admired there—not counting engravings or posthumous tributes such as Ingres's in *L'Apothéose d'Homère*—were a portrait painted by Jean-Baptiste Santerre at the end of the 17th century (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon), a splendid marble bust by François Girardon (Louvre), and the highly expressive portrait painted in 1704 by Hyacinthe Rigaud, engraved by Pierre Drevet (private collection).
Oil painting on its original canvas (remounted on a 19th-century stretcher)
29.5 x 20 cm
Inscription in capital letters on the stretcher: “Portrait of BOILEAU”
Good condition (minor maintenance repainting)
In a beautiful period Louis XIII frame in natural wood carved with laurel leaves
Related work : Workshop of François de Troy, Portrait of Nicolas Boileau. Oil on canvas, 81 x 61 cm. Saint-Cloud, Musée du Grand Siècle.
“Boileau knew how to replace Horace,
He alone knew how to replace both Persius and Juvenal,
But who will ever fill the place of this unparalleled author?”
Quatrain appearing on the engraving of a portrait of Boileau by Hyacinthe Rigaud.
Bozzetto or ricordo? Original study for a portrait or beautiful replica to preserve the memory of the painting once it was delivered? Whatever its origin, our painting is a reduced version of the Boileau portrait acquired in 2022 by the Musée du Grand Siècle as "French school" and since attributed to the workshop of François de Troy. The lace collar is more quickly suggested in our version, and its composition is simpler: the hand holding the blue moiré lapel of the cloak in a somewhat artificial manner is absent. The face is consistent with the Saint-Cloud portrait, but more finely modeled despite its small size, with more subtle contrasts of light and shadow. The eye sparkles more, reinforcing an impression of mischievous intelligence.
Although the canvas is rectangular, our portrait is set in an oval – the lower part of the oval being outlined in yellow. Significantly, the black background surrounding the wig and cloak is slightly thicker than the subject, and its texture is less smooth, almost granular. This background does not correspond to a 19th-century restoration. It is possible that the black pigment evolved differently. However, let us hypothesize that this was a study (from life?), limited by nature to the essential elements of the portrait, and that it was transformed into a painting by the addition of a plain background.
This psychologically insightful effigy certainly complements the iconography of the author of *L'Art poétique*. Already admired there—not counting engravings or posthumous tributes such as Ingres's in *L'Apothéose d'Homère*—were a portrait painted by Jean-Baptiste Santerre at the end of the 17th century (Musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon), a splendid marble bust by François Girardon (Louvre), and the highly expressive portrait painted in 1704 by Hyacinthe Rigaud, engraved by Pierre Drevet (private collection).
7 500 €
Period: 17th century
Style: Louis 14th, Regency
Condition: Good condition
Material: Oil painting
Length: 29,5 cm
Width: 20 cm
Reference (ID): 1731509
Availability: In stock
Print
