Portrait Of Marquise De Montespan, Studio Of Caspar Netscher, 17th Century

Portrait of Françoise-Athénaïs de Rochechouart de Mortemart, Marquise de Montespan (1640-1707)
studio of Caspar Netscher (1639 - 1684, The Hague), 17th century
Oil on canvas
Dimensions: h. 47 cm, l. 36 cm
Louis XIV period gilded and carved wood frame, 17th century
Framed dimensions: h. 66 cm, l. 56 cm

This work is sold with a certificate of authenticity  guaranteeing its origin, date of execution and attribution to the artist.

Our work is a studio version in identical format of the portrait executed by Caspar Netscher and preserved at the Dresden Fine Arts Gallery.
Related work:
Caspar Netscher, Portrait of the Marquise de Montespan, signed and dated 1671, oil on copper, 48x37 cm inv n° 1351, Gemäldegalerie Alte Meister, Dresden, Germany

In our lovely portrait Madame de Montespan appears in the idealized guise of Saint Cecilia, the embodiment of music and harmony. She wears a sumptuous blue gown embroidered with gold thread and floral motifs, the richness of which underlines her rank at the court of Louis XIV. At her feet, her very young son, Louis Auguste de Bourbon, Duc du Maine, aged around one year, is portrayed playing the mandolin. This childlike presence lends an intimate, emotional dimension, while reinforcing the composition's musical theme.
The carefully constructed set blends nature and architecture: to the left opens a park landscape, while to the right stands a column adorned with reliefs and a heavy red curtain, framing the scene like a theater. In the foreground, several objects - an anvil, a hammer, a balance - allude to experiments attributed to Pythagoras on sound relationships, while the globe on which the figure rests refers to the theory of the harmony of the spheres, according to which the entire universe would be governed by musical proportions.
Thus, through this rich and learned staging, the painter does not limit himself to a simple portrait: he constructs a veritable allegory, in which Madame de Montespan appears as a figure of universal harmony, uniting music, science and cosmic order, while asserting her prestige and role within the court.