Attributed to Alexandre-François Desportes

With Kugel, Paris;

Where acquired by the family of the present owner, in 1982;

Thence by descent.

The Self-portrait as a Huntsman by Alexandre-François Desportes, a morceau de Réception for his entry to the Académie Royale de Peinture et de Sculpture, is one of the artist’s best-known works. Dated 1699, several versions of it are known, some earlier, as in the case of the version that once belonged to Monsieur Hubert Guerrand-Hermès, recently sold in our galleries (sale Collection Hubert Guerrand-Hermès, Sotheby’s, Paris, 13 December 2023, lot 13, sold for 444,500 EUR), and sometimes by the hand of other artists, pupils or followers of Desportes.

From the painting in the Guerrand-Hermès collection, the present composition reprises the figure of the artist wearing a tall wig, sitting comfortably under a tree and holding onto a dog with his left hand, at whose feet is an impressive kill: a hare, a mallard and a pheasant allow the artist to demonstrate his skills as a painter of still lifes.

In the present painting, there is no horse, as is also the case in the Louvre painting; the

standing dog is also closer to the one in the Louvre.

Smaller than both these compositions, our painting nevertheless succeeds in bringing together all the elements and arranging them judiciously.

The figure of the artist resting, surrounded by attributes connected with hunting, is skilfully rendered: the velvet of the clothes is expertly described, the brushstroke is deft, while the coats and plumage of the dead animals are handled with dexterity.

The quality of those parts in good condition suggests that this is an autograph version.