François de Troy

François de Troy, a French painter from a family of artists from Languedoc, was born in Toulouse in 1645 and died in Paris in 1730. His father and grandfather also pursued professions related to painting; his son, Jean-François de Troy, would become a painter in turn. Trained in Paris under Nicolas Loir and then Claude Lefèvre, he learned the art of portraiture from the latter. Portraiture occupies an important place in his work, without encompassing all his activity: he also painted religious and mythological subjects, designed tapestries and practised printmaking. From 1679, his commissions included the portrait of Nils Bielke, Swedish ambassador, followed by that of Marie-Anne de Bavière the following year. In the 1690s, he became the principal painter to the court of James II, then in exile at Saint-Germain-en-Laye.

The allegorical portrait also forms part of his repertoire. In Venus and Adonis, in which Mademoiselle de Blois and the Count of Toulouse take on the mythological roles, he combines magnificence and charm. Some historians attribute to him the invention of the mythological portrait, an attribution that remains framed as such. His career also unfolded within the Académie royale: he served there as adjunct professor, professor and then counsellor-professor, before heading the institution from 7 July 1708 to 4 July 1711.

Among the works associated with his academic activity is the Portrait of Jules Hardouin-Mansart, presented at the Académie in 1699; a portrait of this sitter is held at the Palace of Versailles. The recorded public collections include, in particular, the portrait of Louis-François Lefèvre de Caumartin, dated 1668 and held at the Musée des Beaux-Arts et d’Archéologie in Châlons-en-Champagne, as well as a portrait of Angelo Constantini in the role of Mézetin, dating from before 1694 and held at the Musée Condé in Chantilly. Other portraits attest to the diversity of the sitters depicted: that of Prince James Francis Edward Stewart, dated 1701, is held at the Scottish National Gallery; a Portrait of a Gentleman Accompanied by a Black Page, c. 1725, is in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Quimper.

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Genève Enchères · Lot 422

Attribué à François de Troy — Portrait de Madame Anne-Thérèse Marguenat de Courcelles

Oil on canvas

Original catalogue wording

Attribué à François de Troy — Portrait de Madame Anne-Thérèse Marguenat de Courcelles
huile sur toile
Attribué à

Catalogue period : 2016-04-20

Attributed to

Published result : 6000 CHF

Fees not specified in the available data

Estimate : CHF 6000–8000

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