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François QUESNEL (1543-1619), workshop of
Portrait of Marie …
See original version (French)
176
-
François QUESNEL (1543-1619), workshop of
Portrait of Marie …
See original version (French)
Estimate €12,000 - €15,000
Voluntary lot
Description
François QUESNEL (1543-1619), workshop of
Portrait of Marie Touchet de Belleville, Countess of Entragues
Oil on panel.
H_29 cm L_22 cm
Restorations, small crack.
Related works :
- Attributed to François Quesnel, Portrait of Henriette d'Entragues, oil on panel, 36 x 28 cm, Château de Chantilly, Musée Condé
- Repetition of the above, Portrait of Henriette d'Entragues, oil on panel, 35.8 x 25.8 cm, Château de Versailles, inv. MV 5500
- François Quesnel, Portrait of Henriette d'Entragues, pencil drawing, 33.1 x 23.9 cm, BnF
- Portrait of Marie Touchet, d'Entragues, oil on panel, 32 x 23 cm, Château de Versailles, inv. MV 3247
- Engraving from the historical gallery of Versailles for Charles Gavard's book,
drawn by Belloli after François Clouet or his workshop, 1839-1848, inv. 2012.0.47.9
- Set of drawings (probably pre-engraving drawings by Belloli for the 1837 guide), Bonhams sale, 25/11/2009, lot 102.
Our very fine portrait, of which another identical copy is known to exist in the Château de Versailles (MV 3247, not photographed), came from the Gaignières collection and was presented to Louis XIV, depicts Marie Touchet, Countess of Entragues. For nine years she was the mistress of Charles IX, King of France, with whom she had Charles d'Angoulême, the future peer of France. Her beauty was legendary, and many of her contemporaries described her as a woman whose wit equalled her beauty. Another portrait, formerly attributed to Pourbus the Younger and now in the Musée Condé, of Henriette d'Entragues, daughter of Marie Touchet and mistress of Henry IV, shares similarities with our painting in the quality of the face, hairstyle and costume. This portrait is now attributed to the French painter Francois Quesnel.
From a number of known portraits, we can identify a coherent body of paintings by the same artist or those in his close circle. Often wrongly attributed in the 19th century to the Flemish painter Frans Pourbus the Younger, these portraits of the French haute bourgeoisie can now be attributed to Francois Quesnel.
A painter who is largely unknown today, Quesnel first appears in the account books in 1571, in connection with decorative work. Although he does not appear to have held an official position as painter to the king like his predecessor François Clouet, he was an important court painter between the reigns of Charles IX and Henri IV. It is also interesting to note that the portrait of Henriette d'Entragues, our model's daughter, was also painted on several occasions to the same high standard as our painting.
We can therefore compare our portrait with other works by François Quesnel and his studio, particularly in the treatment of the hair and the underlying design perceptible in the use of the nose. This process is particularly visible in our portrait, and is also found in the painting of a young woman from Quesnel's studio in the National Gallery in London, and in the portrait of Henry III in the Louvre.
The works of Francois Quesnel are particularly rare and little known. Our portrait sheds new light on the French court portrait of the late sixteenth century. Our painting was known from the engraving made to illustrate the works displayed in the portrait room on the second floor of the north wing of the historic gallery at the Château de Versailles, published in 1839.
See original version (French)
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Pictures credits: Contact the Auction House
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