Antoine-François Callet

Presented by King Louis XVI to Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, Baron de l'Aulne (1727-1781), Paris;
Thence by inheritance to the present collector.

Les Belles demeures de France, No. 6, Paris, n.d. [after 1900], illustrated (photograph of the painting as displayed in the "Salon rouge" of the Château de Lantheuil).

The following condition report has been provided by Simon Parkes of Simon Parkes Art Conservation, Inc. 502 East 74th St. New York, NY 212-734-3920, simonparkes@msn.com, an independent restorer who is not an employee of Sotheby's. This painting is in wonderful condition. The canvas has an old glue lining. The paint layer is stable and the lining is a good support. Although the surface is very slightly textured and bumpy in places, the condition of the paint throughout is marvelous and almost completely undamaged. The painting has become dirty. Some fine cracking has developed in places throughout the painting. While this cracking is not indicative of any instability, it is perhaps slightly visually disturbing in areas such as the curtain to the left of the head as well as above and to the right of the head. These areas could be delicately retouched in order to minimize the effect of this cracking. The work is in beautiful condition and currently only has very few retouches. These retouches are rather clumsily applied to diminish some of cracking in the lower center of the painting.
"This lot is offered for sale subject to Sotheby's Conditions of Business, which are available on request and printed in Sotheby's sale catalogues. The independent reports contained in this document are provided for prospective bidders' information only and without warranty by Sotheby's or the Seller."

Antoine Francois Callet executed this regal and imposing portrait of King Louis XVI in Full Coronation Regalia in 1780, during the most celebrated years of his career. He had studied at L’Academie de France in Rome from 1767-1771, where the director, Charles Joseph Natoire, had taken interest in the young artist’s flourishing talent as a portraitist and history painter. During the years following his return to France, Callet was commissioned by various members of the Royal family to execute their formal state portraits; most notable among these were his portraits of the Prince de Bourbon-Conde (Palais Bourbon, Paris, 1774; since destroyed) and King Louis XVI’s brothers, the Comte d’Artois (recorded at the Château de Bagatelle in 1778) and the Comte de Provence (Musée de Grenoble). In 1777 Callet became a member of the Academie de Peinture et de Sculpture, and shortly thereafter, in 1778, was commissioned to paint the prime version of the present portrait (whereabouts unknown).

This impressive portrait, of unbroken provenance, was presented by King Louis XVI directly to Anne Robert Jacques Turgot, the Contrôleur Général des Finances. Official portraits of the king were often commissioned in several versions, some meant as diplomatic gifts or emblems of royal patronage, as in the present case. This particular version is symbolic of the complex relationship between Louis XVI and his court. Turgot was awarded the prestigious position of Contrôleur Général des Finances by Louis XVI and though he was a respected intellectual and economist his theories were progressive, and sometimes contradictory to the accepted financial philosophies of the monarchy. Louis XVI was crowned King of France at just twenty years old and lacked the critical experience needed to effectively confront the social and economic issues in front of him, particularly the social unrest that would lead to the French Revolution. Turgot attempted to institute progressive economic policies such as the end of tax exemption for members of nobility, and established free trade for grain. He received a great deal of opposition from high ranking government officials, and his dissenting views ultimately caused his dismissal from the court by King Louis XVI. The King and his former finance minister maintained an amicable relationship, as evidenced by the fact that  this portrait was presented to Turgot several years after his dismissal. Turgot died the following year, and the present portrait was moved to the family château at Lantheuil in Normandy where it has remained in the possession of his descendants ever since.

King Louis XVI in Full Coronation Regalia adheres closely in composition and pose to Hyacinthe Rigaud’s famous full-length portrait, King Louis XIV in Full Coronation Regalia painted in 1701 and now in the Musée du Louvre, Paris (INV. 7492). Both Royal portraits feature the traditional symbol of the Bourbon lineage, the inverted scepter of King Henry IV, the founder of the Bourbon dynasty. The Joyeuse sword, often associated with Charlemagne and an object used in coronation ceremonies from the 13^th to the 19^th century, is clearly visible in the portraits of both monarchs, exposed on their left hip. King Louis XVI is depicted in the traditional royal blue robes, embroidered with the golden fleur-de-lys capped by a mantle of ermine. Draped over this mantle is a golden chain with the Maltese Cross, the symbol of France’s highest chivalric order, the Saint-Espirit, or The Order of the Holy Spirit.