Portrait Of A Gentleman In A Red Suit With Silver Braid, French School Of The Louis XV Period

French School, Louis XV Period

Portrait of a Gentleman in a Red Suit with Silver Braid

Oil on canvas (relined in the 19th century)
61.5 × 52 cm
Monogram or partial signature on the right: “J.B.V.” (?)
In fine condition
19th-century Louis XIV–style frame in carved and gilded wood
Provenance: Acquired in the Aix-en-Provence region

When we acquired the painting, it bore the full signature “JB Van Loo” and the date 1744. As this inscription appeared to be a later overpainting, we had it removed, revealing beneath, within the original layer, the letters J.B.V…. It is likely that a zealous restorer attempted to reconstruct an incomplete or partially effaced signature. Nevertheless, we cannot guarantee an attribution to Jean-Baptiste Van Loo, the eminent portraitist and elder brother of Carle Van Loo.

This bust-length portrait depicts a man in his fifties (or older), with a kindly and ruddy countenance. The composition is simple yet effective. The background consists of a gradation of browns tinged with green, subtly enlivened by a halo of light around the sitter’s face. The painting’s strength clearly lies in the brilliant red coat, upon which silver braid and buttons gleam, rendered with lively brushwork.

This interplay of red and silver harmonizes with the sitter’s vermilion complexion and with the white of his “Régence”-style wig—its hair at the back gathered into a black taffeta bag, extending beneath the chin with two black ribbons. The figure, imbued with a certain gentleness and devoid of any haughtiness, is treated with remarkable psychological insight, revealing a portraitist who has achieved complete sincerity.