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Lot Essay
The identity of the sitter in this handsome portrait cannot be established with absolute security. The young lady has been thought to depict Marie-Adélaïde de Savoie, duchesse de Bourgogne (1685-1712). The eldest daughter of the duc de Savoie, she married the duc de Bourgogne, grandson of Louis XIV, as part of a political arrangement to strengthen ties between France and Savoy. Although both the duc and duchesse perished, along with their elder son, the duc de Bretagne, in a measles epidemic in 1712, they were survived by their younger son, the future Louis XV. Given the duchesse's prominence at court, it is not surprising that she was depicted by artists of the time including Largillière, Gobert, de Troy, Mignard and the sculptor Coysevox. However, comparison with such works suggests that the sitter cannot be identified as the duchesse with certainty.
If the sitter was not the duchesse, then she very probably was someone in her entourage. One possible suggestion is that the young lady may be Princess Louise-Marie (1692-1712), daughter of King James II of England. Exiled to France with her mother and brother, James Edward Stuart, the Old Pretender, the princess would certainly have met the duchesse at Versailles and Marly on a number of occasions. Although she would only have been thirteen years old at the time of this portrait, it should be noted that it was fashionable at the time to 'age' children in such works - note, for example, the grey wig worn in the present painting. Some portraits of the princess, including a double portrait with her brother painted by Largillière, were shown in the exhibition, La cour des Stuarts à Saint-Germain-en-Laye au temps de Louis XIV (Saint-Germain-en-Laye, 1992). Although comparison between the various works is not conclusive, there is, in the present painting, something of the features of the princess as she was portrayed by an anonymous artist (cat. no. 109).
The present painting is remarkable in that the artist's signature and date the portrait was painted can still be seen on the reverse of the original canvas.
If the sitter was not the duchesse, then she very probably was someone in her entourage. One possible suggestion is that the young lady may be Princess Louise-Marie (1692-1712), daughter of King James II of England. Exiled to France with her mother and brother, James Edward Stuart, the Old Pretender, the princess would certainly have met the duchesse at Versailles and Marly on a number of occasions. Although she would only have been thirteen years old at the time of this portrait, it should be noted that it was fashionable at the time to 'age' children in such works - note, for example, the grey wig worn in the present painting. Some portraits of the princess, including a double portrait with her brother painted by Largillière, were shown in the exhibition, La cour des Stuarts à Saint-Germain-en-Laye au temps de Louis XIV (Saint-Germain-en-Laye, 1992). Although comparison between the various works is not conclusive, there is, in the present painting, something of the features of the princess as she was portrayed by an anonymous artist (cat. no. 109).
The present painting is remarkable in that the artist's signature and date the portrait was painted can still be seen on the reverse of the original canvas.