Portrait Of A Lady C.1680; Circle Of Francois De Troy (1645-1730), Carved 17th Century Frame

This portrait is an excellent example of the type of portrait in vogue in France in the latter part of the 17th century and at the beginning of the 18th. The babysitter is sumptuously dressed in a blue dress with a collar and a silk coat which flows elegantly behind the babysitter; this touch creates a feeling of movement in the image. France during this period was the main representative of fashion and the arts in the rest of Europe and the fashions were born from the French court itself. Expensive fabrics, jewelry and the whiteness of the skin are hallmarks of the caretaker's social status. The treatment of white lace is very good; it is a technique which required meticulous work.

A feature of this portrait is its fine carved and gilded hardwood frame from the 17th century, decorated with acorns and acanthus leaves. The frame is a work of art in its own right.

François de Troy was born in Toulouse in 1645 and learned the basic skills of painting by his father, and perhaps by Antoine Durand. Around 1662, he went to Paris to study the portrait under Claude Lefèbvre (1633–1675) and Nicolas-Pierre Loir (1624–1679 and in 1671, he was approved by the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. by Claude Lefebvre in 1675, Troy concentrated on the portrait intended for the orders of former Lefebvre customers and became a very successful and fashionable painter. In the 1690s, Troy became the principal painter of the court of King James II in exile, the artist of choice at the Stuart court in exile in Saint-Germain. Between 1698 and 1711, he produced a series of portraits of Jacques II and his children. Between 1698 and 1701, a period of peace between France and Great Britain, the Jacobites crossed the Channel carrying portraits of James Francis Edward Stuart and his sister Princess Louisa Maria. In 1698, he was appointed professor at the Royal Academy and in 1708 became its director. He died in Paris at the age of eighty-five. rk continuous in the circles of the court for almost fifty years and was admired for its ability to capture the upper classes and their concern for manners and fashion.

Provenance: French private collection

Dimensions: Height 84cm, Width 72cm framed (Height 33 ”, Width 28.25” framed)