Portrait Of A Young Gentleman In A Red Suit, Signed And Dated 1717, Paris, Early 18th Century

Portrait of a Young Gentleman
Early 18th-century French school, Paris, 1717
Signed and dated on the reverse of the original canvas: Le Cocq, 1717 (“painted by Le Cocq in 1717”)

Oil on canvas
Dimensions: H. 81 cm × W. 63 cm
18th-century carved and gilded wooden frame
Dimensions with frame: H. 91 cm × W. 75 cm

Provenance: former collection of the de Rochechouart de Mortemart family. A collector’s mark affixed to the back of the stretcher bears the inscription: “Collection of Count and Countess Charles Louis de Rouchechouart de Mortemart, prints, drawings, paintings—2000 inventories, no. 63.”

The portrait we present here offers a striking vision of theatricality and aristocratic splendor, depicting a young gentleman in all the magnificence of the French court in the early 18th century.

Behind a sumptuous burgundy velvet curtain, suspended from richly ornate golden cords, the young subject appears as if the drapery had just parted to reveal him amid a grandiose architectural setting. An elegant entablature and an imposing stone pillar evoke the refined interiors of an aristocratic residence, lending the composition a decidedly princely character.

Despite his young age, he already wears a sword at his side—a powerful emblem of his noble birth and the military ideals of the French aristocracy. His confident bearing, the sumptuousness of his attire, and the elegance of his accessories evoke a world in which distinction through military service was one of the most prestigious paths to honor at the court of Versailles.

He is dressed in a magnificent red velvet coat, richly embroidered with silver thread and adorned with numerous buttons. His long, powdered hair, styled according to the fashion of the time, frames a delicately chiseled, youthful face, while his elegant hat, held with studied nonchalance, completes this exceptionally refined ensemble.

Although the model’s exact identity remains unknown, the portrait eloquently testifies to the world to which he belonged. His distinguished background, within the prestigious de Rochechouart de Mortemart family—one of the great families of the French aristocracy—further enhances its historical significance; the collection’s mark is preserved on the reverse of the stretcher.

We are thus in the presence of a particularly captivating portrait, in which theatricality, aristocratic splendor, and the refinement of the French court come together in a composition of remarkable presence: a sumptuous celebration of youth, lineage, elegance, and the ideals of Versailles at the dawn of the 18th century.

The painting is signed and dated “made by Le Cocq in 1717” on the reverse of its original canvas. While the artist’s exact identity remains unknown, he may be the Parisian painter Le Cocq, some of whose works are known from 18th-century engravings, notably the portrait of Cardinal Bartolomeo Massei, engraved by Gaspard Massi. The surviving prints attest to the existence of this otherwise poorly documented artist and lend particular significance to this remarkable signed portrait.