"Portrait Of Louis XVI Period, Around 1780"
Portrait of Louis XVI periodOil on canvas
Original frame
France, circa 1780
Frame dimensions: 64.5 x 81 cm
Canvas dimensions: 79 x 95 cm
Mention on the back: Portrait de Mme Gratien / Née la Bruyère
These indications can inform us on the identity of the subject: It is very probably the countess Marie Rose Bruyère de Kerbineau (Guingamp 1731-1812), wife of Alexis-Théodore de Gratien des Bordes , general director of the duties of Brittany. The counts of Gratien have been attested in Brittany since the beginning of the 15th century (see Mailhol, Historical and Heraldic Dictionary of the French Nobility, 1898, p.211 - available online at gallica).
The same handwritten mention is found on the frame.
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An interesting sartorial parallel is given by the pastel portrait of the novelist Sophie von La Roche (1731-1807) [anonymous, Goethe-Museum, Frankfurt, last photo], dated 1774.
