Portrait of Madame Lavieuville, comtesse de Parabère, three-quarter-length, in a pink silk dress with a gold wrap, holding a pink

The composition derives from one used by Rigaud on more than one occasion, for example his Portrait of Hyacinthe-Sophie, marquise de Louville of 1708 (formerly with Segoura, New York, 1982). The formula must, however, predate that work, as Rigaud noted in his account book that the dress of the marquise had been 'répété' (see J. Roman, Le livre de raison du peintre Hyacinthe Rigaud, Paris, 1919, p. 139). The composition of the Louville portrait differs mainly from the present work in the artist's inclusion of a young Moor in the lower right corner, proffering a basket of flowers, the basket being positioned over the sitter's right hip.

Another version of the composition, again including the Moor, was engraved by S. Valée in circa 1760. The engraving has beneath it the inscription:
'Sous le riant aspect de Flore
Cette beauté touche les coeurs,
Et par le conraste d'un More,
Relève ses attraits vainqueurs.

'Mais que dis-je des dons de Flore?
Son teint augmente sa fraîcheur,
Et la noirceur même du More
Tire un éclat de sa blancheur.'

We are grateful to Dr. Dominique Brême for his assistance in cataloguing this lot; on the basis of a colour transparency, Dr. Brême dates the present work to circa 1710.