Lot 245
  • 245

HYACINTHE RIGAUD | Portrait of a gentleman, half-length, in a red mantle

Estimate
20,000 - 30,000 USD
bidding is closed

Description

  • Hyacinthe Rigaud
  • Portrait of a gentleman, half-length, in a red mantle
  • oil on canvas
  • 27 1/2  by 22 5/8  in.; 70 by 57.5 cm.

Provenance

George Encil;
By whom sold, Paris, Drouot, 25 June 1999, lot 56;
Anonymous sale, New York, Christie's, 2 November 2000, lot 193;
There acquired

Literature

V. Prat, Experience and Adventures of a Collector, Tours 1989, pp. 175 and 429 (as Levrac-Tournières);
S. Perreau, Hyacinthe Rigaud: Catalogue concis de l'oeuvre, Languedoc 2013, p. 118, cat. no. P442, reproduced;
A. James-Sarazin, Hyacinthe Rigaud: Catalogue Raisonné, Paris 2016, vol. II, p. 104, cat. no. P.292, reproduced. 

Condition

The canvas has been relined. The paint layer is stable and the colors remain bright, though some of the browns, particularly in the hair, have worn slightly. The brushwork in the highlights of the costume is particularly well-preserved and remains lively and vivid. Ultraviolet light reveals an old, uneven varnish and evidence of some possible retouchings from an older restoration campaign, though nothing appears distracting or discolored. The painting could benefit from a fresh varnish to brighten it or could be hung as is. Offered in a carved giltwood frame.
In response to your inquiry, we are pleased to provide you with a general report of the condition of the property described above. Since we are not professional conservators or restorers, we urge you to consult with a restorer or conservator of your choice who will be better able to provide a detailed, professional report. Prospective buyers should inspect each lot to satisfy themselves as to condition and must understand that any statement made by Sotheby's is merely a subjective qualified opinion.
NOTWITHSTANDING THIS REPORT OR ANY DISCUSSIONS CONCERNING CONDITION OF A LOT, ALL LOTS ARE OFFERED AND SOLD "AS IS" IN ACCORDANCE WITH THE CONDITIONS OF SALE PRINTED IN THE CATALOGUE.

Catalogue Note

This elegant portrait, which can stylistically be dated to circa 1605, beautifully displays Rigaud's hallmark ability to create realistic depictions of features alongside bravura rendering of material and texture. Dézallier d'Argenville, writing in the following century, noted that "when he (Rigaud) painted velvet, satin, taffeta, fur or lace, one had to touch them to realise they were not the real thing. Wigs and hair, which are so difficult to paint, were but a game for him; the hands in his paintings are particularly divine."1

The present work is almost certainly the lost picture which is noted on a photograph in the Centre d'étude et de documentation du Musée du Louvre of a copy of the work in the Gil collection.  More recently (see Perreau, under Literature), the present work has been published as the prime version with the Gil collection as a sketchier, second version.   1. Abrégé de la vie des plus fameux peintres, Paris 1745-52 and 1762.