Portrait Of Marine Officer Under Louis XVI French School Of The Eighteenth Century

Oil on canvas 92 cm x 72 cm Réentoilé, restorations It is more exactly an engineer of the fortifications of the Navy, knight of the order of Saint-Louis. The outline of the fort visible in his hands is that of a square structure flanked by four bastions typical of the fortifications erected during the reign of Louis XIV by Vauban. This plan lacks details so that it can be identified. It could be symbolic in order to immortalize the portrait in his functions. This work is worthy of that of a great master. Indeed, it presents no awkwardness, quite the contrary. The mastery of the rendering of the complexion, the velvet, the execution of the hands, the elegance of the composition, make it a remarkable painting. In addition, the size slightly larger than that of the usual bust portraits, its appreciable state of conservation and its frame of good quality accentuate the beautiful quality of this portrait. Although it is difficult to find the identity of the portrait, this rare representation of an engineer in the fortifications of the Navy is an interesting testimony.