 Nicolas de Largillière (French, 1656–1746)
Jean-Baptiste Belin de Fontenay (French, 1653–
1715)
Hélène Lambert de Thorigny, c. 1696–1700
Oil on canvas
Purchase, 1969 (3577.1)
Largillière made his reputation as a painter of portraits
of members of the wealthy middle classes, such as
Madame Lambert de Thorigny, the wife of a successful
financier from Normandy. From the swirling garland of
flowers meticulously painted by Belin (who specialized
in floral subjects) to the sitter’s twisting form and tightly
curled coiffure, the composition is thoroughly in the
Rococo style. The African servant, however, is an early
17th-century compositional device often used in Grand
Manner portraiture. Made at a transitional moment
between the Baroque and the Rococo, this work attests
to Largillière’s duel interest in art of the past and styles
of the present. |