Portrait Of The Duchess Of Maine. Francois De Troy (1645-1730)

Oil on canvas/panel Presented in a rare frame from the same period in carved and gilded wood. Total dimensions: 64 x 52 cm. The canvas alone: 42 x 32 cm This very beautiful portrait from the Louis XIV period, painted around 1695, represents Anne Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon, Duchess of Maine 1676-1753. She is shown seated outside (most likely the Château de Sceaux) and dressed in a richly embroidered pink taffeta dress. On his left arm, a large piece of blue cloth descends and covers his legs. Holding a mirror, she is surrounded by three putti and the attributes of love. And as it should be at this time, her hair is done à la Fontanges. Anne Louise Bénédicte de Bourbon, Mademoiselle d'Enghien, then Mademoiselle de Charolais, then Duchess of Maine, was born on November 8, 1676 and died in Paris on January 23, 1753. Granddaughter of the Grand Condé, daughter of the Prince of Condé, first Prince of the Blood, and Princess Palatine Anne of Bavaria (1648-1723), she married at Versailles, March 19, 1692, Louis Auguste de Bourbon, Duke of Maine (1670-1736), legitimized bastard of Louis XIV and Madame by Montespan. They had seven children, all without issue. Order of the Honey Fly. This is a company created in Sceaux by the Duchess of Maine. This society occupied itself with its feasts and its amusements. The Order of the Honey Fly consisted of thirty-nine members who had their robes and oaths. The bee was their symbol which was accompanied by this motto: “Piccola si, ma fa pur gravi le ferite” (“She is small, but causes serious injuries”). François de Troy, from a family of Toulouse artists, stood out very early on with the creation of coats of arms for the solemn entry of the Prince de Conti into Toulouse in 1662. We then find him in Paris where he continued his training. in the studio of Nicolas Loir, then of Jean I Cotelle, whose daughter he married in 1668. First a history painter, he was approved by the Academy in 1671 then received in 1674 with "Mercure et Argus". Through his frequentation of Claude Lefebvre's studio, he turned to the art of portraiture, of which he was to be one of the greatest representatives of the end of the reign of Louis XIV and the Regency. It is believed that thanks to his friendship with Charles Le Brun, the King's first painter, he was put in contact with Madame de Montespan, who made him one of her appointed artists. The interpersonal skills of the impetuous favorite will allow her to come into contact with the royal family and with everything that matters at court and in Paris. He will also be the portrait painter of the royal family of England, exiled in France to the castle of Saint-Germain-en-Laye from 1689. Fine courtier, François de Troy then became attached to the Duke of Maine, beloved bastard of Louis XIV and his influential wife, daughter of the Prince of Condé. His son Jean-François (1679 – 1752) collaborated with him at the end of his career before taking up the torch and perpetuating the family glory. Very good state of conservation. Sold with invoice and certificate. Payment facilities on request.