Attributed To Pierre Mignard Portrait Of Jacques Rioult d'Ouilly 1676

Portrait of Jacques Rioult d'Ouilly, Receiver General of Finances for the Generality of Poitiers, 1676. Oil on oval canvas. Annotated on reverse: "1676 - Rioult d'Ouilly - aetatis suae 79 obiit anno 1704 die 23 martis"
73 x 59 cm

This remarkable oval portrait depicts Jacques Rioult d'Ouilly (1625-1704), Seigneur d'Ouilly, an important finance officer in the reign of Louis XIV. The ancient inscription on the reverse, mentioning the date 1676, the name Rioult d'Ouilly, his age at death and his death on March 23, 1704, identifies the character.

Jacques Rioult d'Ouilly belonged to a Norman family of dress and finance, several members of which held important positions in the service of the monarchy. He was :

• Vicomte de Moyaux in 1647
• receveur des gabelles à Mers et Ault
• receveur des tailles de Lisieux in 1675
• receveur général des finances de la généralité de Poitiers from 1670 to 1686
• intéressé aux Fermes-unies from 1680 to 1702
• honorary councillor-secretary to the King in 1688
• secretary to the Duke of Orléans

The model is shown half-body, turned three-quarters to the left, his gaze directed at the viewer. Her large brown hair or wig, treated in soft, blended masses, frames a clear, slightly idealized face, whose expression combines social assurance and psychological gentleness. The lace jabot, red drapery and sumptuous silk cloak compose an image of refined distinction, more intimate than official, but fully in keeping with the codes of aristocratic and financial portraiture of the second half of the 17th century.

The most singular element of the work is the interior cloak worn by the model, likened to a banyan, a luxurious masculine dressing gown then prized by European elites. Its chinoiserie decoration, animated by small oriental figures, testifies to the taste of wealthy circles for exotic silks, Indians and objects from Asia.

The attribution to Pierre Mignard can be proposed due to the date of the work, the status of the model and several stylistic affinities. The gentle treatment of the face, the elegant pose, the dark background, the colorful animation of the red drapery and the melted manner of painting the hair find parallels in the master's male portraits, notably in the famous portrait of Jean-Baptiste Poquelin, known as Molière. In 1676, Mignard was at the height of his Parisian career, working for a clientele of court, dress and finance, to which Jacques Rioult d'Ouilly fully belonged.

The descent and alliances of the Rioult d'Ouilly family illustrate the rise and influence of this lineage in 17th and 18th century French society. Among the most notable figures to emerge from this family line was Agnès Berthelot de Pléneuf, Marquise de Prie (1698-1727), granddaughter of Pierre Rioult d'Ouilly, brother of Jacques Rioult d'Ouilly. A favorite of Louis Henri de Bourbon-Condé, Duc de Bourbon and Prime Minister of Louis XV, she exerted considerable political influence during the years 1723-1726, before her disgrace and exile.

We can also mention Séraphin Marie Nicolas Rioult de Curzay, Marquis de Cursay (1706-1766), descendant of the branch descended from Pierre Rioult d'Ouilly. A playwright close to 18th-century literary circles and Voltaire, he had several plays performed at the Comédie-Française and illustrated the posterity of the Rioult de Curzay name.

By its identification, its date, the social quality of its model, its exceptional clothing and its attribution to one of the great portraitists of the Grand Siècle, this work is a rare testimony to the image of financiers under Louis XIV, between representation of rank, a culture of refinement and a taste for oriental fabrics.