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Louis Ferdinand I ELLE (Paris 1612 - 1689)
Portrait of Élisa…
See original version (French)
147
-
Louis Ferdinand I ELLE (Paris 1612 - 1689)
Portrait of Élisa…
See original version (French)
Estimate €20,000 - €30,000
Voluntary lot
Description
Louis Ferdinand I ELLE (Paris 1612 - 1689)
Portrait of Élisabeth-Marguerite d'Orléans, mademoiselle d'Alençon, duchesse de Guise (Paris 1646 -1696 Versailles)
Canvas
55 x 46 cm
Provenance :
Anonymous sale, Versailles, (Me Blache), 17 June 1981, n°6 ;
Anonymous sale, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, (Mes Ader, Nordmann), 16 December 2016, n°A24, reproduced (attributed to Charles Beaubrun).
Louis Ferdinand I ELLE
Nicknamed "Ferdinand" or "Elle Ferdinand", the Elle family were painters of Flemish origin, active between 1601 and 1717. The first of the line, Ferdinand Elle (c. 1580-1637), probably from Malines, came to France at the very beginning of the 17th century. A Protestant, he first worked in Fontainebleau, before settling in the Parisian district of Saint-Germain-des-Prés, whose master's office, taking advantage of the franchises granted by the abbey, welcomed foreign painters, unlike the Parisian guild. As his name lacked originality, he became known by his first name of Ferdinand, which was later taken over by his descendants to better mark the continuity of the studio: his two sons, Louis Elle the Elder or Father and the engraver Pierre Elle (1617-1665), then Louis's son, Louis Elle the Younger (1649-1717).
A renowned portraitist and master of the Guild of Saint-Germain, Louis Elle the Elder worked for the great Parisian families, the most eminent courtiers and members of the royal family, including the Grande Mademoiselle, Queen Marie-Thérèse of Austria, Philippe, brother of Louis XIV, and the sovereign himself.
By February 1648, the artist was a member of the Académie de peinture et de sculpture, which elected him professor in 1659. However, the hardening of the royal policy towards Protestants led to his exclusion on 10 March 1681, causing him to lose some of his clientele and official commissions. Elle Ferdinand recanted two and a half months after the revocation of the Edict of Nantes on 18 October 1685, which allowed him to be immediately reinstated at the Académie and to return to favour, as demonstrated by the Portrait of the Marquise de Maintenon accompanied by her niece commissioned in 1688 for the Maison royale de Saint-Cyr (Versailles, inv. MV 2196).
Mademoiselle d'Alençon
The radiant, full beauty that captured hearts in the mid-seventeenth century, smiling and sumptuously adorned, the model in our portrait fascinates, while retaining an element of mystery. There is nothing to suggest her anonymity, but her rich finery indicates a person of quality, undoubtedly from one of the best lineages in the kingdom. She was dressed with all the elegance
She was dressed with all the elegance of the early years of the reign of Louis XIV in a silk gown embroidered with gold and silver thread, with puffed sleeves encircled by ornaments of rubies, sapphires and pearls. A large pendant of diamonds and large pearls adorned the front of the bodice, while a cape of gold cloth embroidered with silver and lined with crimson silk
covers the right shoulder, giving added sparkle to this display of wealth worthy of a princess.
Yet all this ostentatious luxury occupies only the lower quarter of the portrait, and barely extends beyond the wimple in fine tan muslin that emphasises rather than covers the décolleté. Beyond that, the marvellous clarity of the "lily and rose" skin tones easily rivals the white of the pearls adorning the young woman's neck, ears and hair. The cold light coming from above on the left glints off the flesh, stretches across the pearls, grazes the carmine lips, blazes in the model's eyes, lined with thick silky lashes, and glides through the hair, which escapes in undulating strands from the sophisticated hairstyle.
This vibrant, sideways light, which lifts the textures, penetrates the thickness of the iris and creates warm, transparent shadows, as well as this melting, Vandyckian touch, are characteristic of one of the most sought-after portraitists of the period and distinguish his style.
They distinguish his style from that of the Beaubrun brothers, who favoured meticulous description and porcelain flesh. This is Louis Elle, known as Ferdinand, and a comparison with his contemporary works signed on the reverse of the canvas leaves little doubt as to the relationship between our portrait and his autograph.
Our painting, which has sometimes been recognised as the presumed portrait of Madame de Sévigné, in fact turns out to be a royal portrait, that of Elizabeth d'Orléans, mademoiselle d'Alençon, duchesse de Guise (Paris 1646-1696 Versailles).
The identity of the sitter is revealed by Jean-Claude Boyer and by the triple portrait in scrolled frames depicting three of Gaston d'Orléans' four daughters (fig. 1.), Marguerite Louise d'Orléans, MarieMadeleine d'Orléans and Elisabeth d'Orléans (Tajan sale, 18 Dec 2018, lot 30, as in Le Goût de Pierre Mignard).
As the inscriptions on the reverse reveal, the model on the right is indeed that of Elisabeth d'Orléans, mademoiselle d'Alençon, duchesse de Guise (fig.2.). Comparison with our painting therefore confirms the identity of the model. Although we have not seen it in real life, there is every indication that this triple portrait was painted after an original by Louis Ferdinand l'Aîné (Mademoiselle de Montpensier's collection in the early 17th century). On the reverse of the canvas are various inscriptions giving the names of the models and monograms crowned LPO (linked), for Louis-Philippe d'Orléans, C. M (Château de Madrid), described as follows in the sale catalogue:
Provenance:
- Commissioned and collected by King Louis-Philippe for the Château d'Eu; Château de Madrid, according to a monogram on the reverse.
The models are three of the four daughters of Gaston d'Orléans, who bore the title of Duke of Orléans like Louis-Philippe.
With its neutral, dark background that brings the model closer to the viewer, our painting is one of the artist's most intimate, without losing any of its solemnity. The tight framing emphasises more than ever the penetrating, witty gaze of the model, who was probably painted in situ. This is one of Louis Ferdinand l'Aisné's finest works, if not his finest piece in a body of work in full development.
See original version (French)
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Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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