Hyacinthe Rigaud

Anonymous sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 15 June 1911, lot 74;
Claudon;
By whom sold, Paris, 23 June 1926, lot 47;
Henri Leroux;
By whom sold, Paris, Palais Galliéra, 23 March 1968, lot 79;
Anonymous sale, Paris, Christie's, 8 November 2005, lot 323. where acquired.

Paris, Galerie André Seligmann, Portraits français de 1400 à 1900, 9 June - 1 July 1936, no. 38;
Paris, Galerie Drouin, Le Portrait Français, June - July 1943, no. 56;
Paris, Galerie Charpentier, Cent Portraits d'Hommes, 1952 (according to a label on the reverse). 

M. Granet and J.B. Isabey, Notice des dessins dans les galeries du Musée Royal du Louvre, Paris 1840, cat. no. 1255;
G. van Derveer Gallenkamp, Hyacinthe Rigaud, PhD thesis, Harvard University, Cambridge Mass. 1956, p. 350;
J.F. Mejanès in R. Bacou (ed.), Dessins français du XVIII siècle, de Watteau à Lemoyne, exhibition catalogue, Paris 1987, p. 28, under cat. no. 30;
E. Coquery, Visages du Grand Siècle: le portrait français sous le règne de Louis XIV, 1660-1715, exhibition catalogue, Paris 1997, p. 246, under cat. no. 95;
D. Brême, Hyacinthe Rigaud dessinateur: L'estampille objet d'art, exhibition catalogue, Dijon 2000, p. 42;
D. Sanguineti in D. Sanguinetti and P. Caretta (eds), "Il ritratto di Suzanne Henriette d'Elbeuf di Rigaud a Genova: Fortuna dei modelli francesi e indagine sulla ritrattistica genovese del Settecento", in Suzanne Henriette d'Elbeuf, ultima duchessa di Mantova.  Storia di un ritratto e della sua fortuna, Mantua 2001, p. 42;
A. James-Sarazin in P. Boccardo, C. Di Fabbio and P. Senechal (eds.), Genova e la Francia: Opere, artisti, committenti, collezionisti, Milan 2003, pp. 205-219;
D. Sanguineti, Genovesi in posa, Appunti sulla ritrattistica tra fine Seicento e Settecento, Genoa 2011, pp. 32-33; 
S. Perreau, Hyacinthe Rigaud, Catalogue concis de l'oeuvre, Sète 2013, p. 173, cat. no. P.771, reproduced p. 173, fig. 771 and plate III, fig 771.

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This work has an old lining which is still effective. The stretcher is old if not original. The paint layer is clean and well restored. When viewed under ultraviolet light, one can see remnants of an opaque varnish. A few retouches are visible on top of this varnish. There are none in the face, neck or shirt. There are a few spots in the hat. The clothing, remainder of the figure, and the background below the head show very few retouches under ultraviolet light except in the cloak on the right side. One can see that there is an old break and repair in the left edge of the hat extending into the background, running about 3 inches. The surface is very even throughout much of the remainder of the picture. It is fair to assume that there are retouches beneath this opaque varnish in the darker colors of the background and figure. Despite the fact that the restoration to the old break next to the hat is visible, it is recommended that the painting be hung in its current state.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

This handsome, signed and dated portrait was painted by Hyacinthe Riguad, court painter to King Louis XIV of France.  In 1708 Rigaud tasked his assistant, Montmorency, with creating a drawing of the portrait as a ricordo, finished by the master himself, which is now conserved in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (fig. 1).  The sitter has yet to be identified with certainty but the impressive size and magnitude of the canvas and the fact that it is signed and dated on the recto, rather than on the reverse as is customary for the artist, suggest the patron was a man of significant standing. 

The painting was long considered to be a self-portrait and later to be a likeness of the artist's brother-in-law, Jean Lafitte, Councilor to the king and Royal Bailiff, who had married Rigaud’s younger sister Claire in 1679.  However, comparisons with Rigaud’s famed 1698 Self-Portrait in a Turban, now in the Musée Hycinthe Rigaud, Perpignon and his 1695 triple portrait of the Laffite family, now in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (inv. no. 7520) which includes a turbaned likeness of Jean Lafitte, discounts these two hypotheses.  At the time of the painting’s sale in 2005 (see Provenance) Perreau tentatively identified the sitter as the Italian bishop and diplomat, Alessandro Roncovieri (1642-1711). A literary man and scientist, Roncovieri was sent to the French court by the Farnese family as envoy of Parma in 1702, the same year of this painting.  Ariane James-Sarazin and Daniele Sanguinetti, meanwhile, have proposed an identification of the sitter as the Genoese nobleman, Paolo Gerolamo II Pallavicini (1677-1746), who was Envoy Extraordinary of the Republic to London in 1703 (see Literature).  Sanguineti's identification seems the most likely hypothesis and is based on a comparison with a portrait thought to depict Paolo Gerolamo II on horseback, now in a private collection. The Pallavicini were a family of immense importance and power in Genoa and were known as great patrons and collectors.

The sitter’s comportment is relatively relaxed, his dress coat is unbuttoned to the chest and, rather than bewigged, he is shown in the ‘casual’ turban which would be worn at home. The artist placed him within a modest background, prohibiting any distraction from the figure itself.  The pose reflects that employed by Rigaud in his portrait of the Philippe de Courcillon Marquis de Gangeau (1638-1720) in the Chateau de Versailles (inv. no. MV 3652) of the same year.  The artist reprised the pose again in his 1723 portrait of Jules-Robert de Cotte (1683-1767) in a private collection in Bain-de-Bretagne.¹  Rigaud had by this time reached the height of his career: he was the head of a thriving workshop and venerated for his remarkable portraits which were high sought after among Europe’s aristocracy.  His magnificent portrait of the bishop and theologian, Jacques-Bénigne Bossuet (1627-1704) now in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (inv. no. 7506) also dates to 1702 and his full length portrait of King Louis XIV, resplendent in his Coronation robes, had been completed just a year before. 

 

1.  For Rigaud's two portraits see S. Perreau, under Literature, p. 169, cat. no. PC.746 reproduced and p. 268, cat. no. P.1317, reproduced, respectively.