Lot Essay
Abel-Francois Poisson (1727-1781), Marquis de Vandières from 1746, Marquis de Marigny from 1755, and later Marquis de Menars, owed his position at court to the influence of his sister, Madame de Pompadour, King Louis XV's mistress, and his uncle-in-law, the wealthy fermier général Lenourmand de Tournehem. De Tournehem used royal patronage to acquire, at great cost, the charge of Directeur-Général des Bâtiments du Roi which on his death passed to his nephew. From the age of twenty the Marquis de Marigny enjoyed royal favour, and, more surprising perhaps, retained the esteem and friendship of the King long after his sister's death. Well trained by Madame de Pompadour to take over the responsibilities of De Tournehem, Marigny travelled to Italy in 1750 with Charles-Nicolas Cochin, the Abbé Le Blanc and the architect Jacques-Germain Soufflot. On his return in 1751, he assumed the position of head of the arts in France, a role he continued to exercise for the next twenty years. It is impossible to exaggerate his significance in the artistic life of his day, for during this period he enjoyed complete control over the Academie de la Peinture et de la Sculpture, and over every aspect of royal buliding and decoration.
Marigny, in contrast to the 'goût Pompadour' associated with his sister's patronage of artists such as Boucher, quickly gave his support to the revival of history painting at the Academy. His name is above all associated with the style known as the goût grec that became fashionable in Paris in the 1750s and 1760s. Marigny's distrust of the extremes of Rococo decoration, which he aimed to correct with a return to a more classical severity, is recorded in numerous remarks and letters: writing to Boucher about frames he commented 'I want no modern foliage', and in 1765 he stated his hope that the Academy of Architecture would 'correct the bad taste of the day' (A. Braham, The Architecture of the French Enlightenment, London, 1980, p. 45). The austerity of his official residence in Paris near the Louvre prefigured artistic developments of the 1780s. Soufflot installed panelling, at Marigny's request, 'in good taste, half Greekery' (A. Braham, ibid.). The furnishings and decoration of the room in the present picture well reflect this. The simple form of the mouldings is late Rococo while the twin-branch wall light is nearly neo-classical (for similar wall lights see, for instance, S. Eriksen, Early Neo-Classicism in France, London, 1974, fig. 210; and a pair sold in these Rooms, 13 June 1991, lots 30 and 31, from the collection of George William, 6th Earl of Coventry, one of the earliest collectors of early neo-classical furniture).
Marigny patronised, among others, Boucher, Greuze, Vernet, Chardin and the Van Loo, Louis-Michel being the most talented of Jean-Baptiste van Loo's sons, and, according to Michael Levey (op. cit., pp. 173-4), a far better portrait painter than his father. His clientele was varied; he is probably the only painter to have made official full-length portraits of Louis XV as well as a portrait of Diderot. In 1727 Louis-Michel accompanied the painter Boucher and his uncle, Carle van Loo, to Rome. Soon after he was appointed court painter to the Spanish Bourbon court under King Philip V, remaining in Madrid until 1757. On his return to Paris, Van Loo became a frequent exhibitor at the Salon and was awarded the position of Directeur de l'Ecole royale des Elèves protégés in 1765. His popularity both with sitters and with the general public seems to have derived from his ability to convey convincing likenesses, luxurious fabrics and realistic settings as well as the acute characterization and sense of intimacy so successfully conveyed in the present picture.
Due to the nature of the relationship between the sitters, Van Loo's picture was indirectly criticised at the Salon. The love for public scandal, which plagued the political life of the late part of King Louis XV's reign, placed this picture under the close scrutiny of critics. Marigny's recent marriage to the notably younger Julie de Filleul (1751-1804) was indeed much discussed. Rumours about their unsuitability fueled attempts by critics to read into the composition a public avowal of their marital discord.
Marigny was also painted by both Louis Tocqué and Alexandre Roslin. Tocqué's portrait (at Versailles), painted in 1755, was exhibited at the Salon of the same year and was engraved by Jean-Georges Wille for his reception piece, itself exhibited at the 1761 Salon. Roslin painted Marigny's official portrait in 1761 (a replica of the lost original is at Versailles) and a portrait of the Marquise de Marigny which was exhibited at the 1767 Salon. The latter prompted Diderot to comment in 1769 that he preferred the present picture by Van Loo, 'Michel a laissé Roslin bien derrière de lui' (Diderot, op. cit., p. 69)
Marigny, in contrast to the 'goût Pompadour' associated with his sister's patronage of artists such as Boucher, quickly gave his support to the revival of history painting at the Academy. His name is above all associated with the style known as the goût grec that became fashionable in Paris in the 1750s and 1760s. Marigny's distrust of the extremes of Rococo decoration, which he aimed to correct with a return to a more classical severity, is recorded in numerous remarks and letters: writing to Boucher about frames he commented 'I want no modern foliage', and in 1765 he stated his hope that the Academy of Architecture would 'correct the bad taste of the day' (A. Braham, The Architecture of the French Enlightenment, London, 1980, p. 45). The austerity of his official residence in Paris near the Louvre prefigured artistic developments of the 1780s. Soufflot installed panelling, at Marigny's request, 'in good taste, half Greekery' (A. Braham, ibid.). The furnishings and decoration of the room in the present picture well reflect this. The simple form of the mouldings is late Rococo while the twin-branch wall light is nearly neo-classical (for similar wall lights see, for instance, S. Eriksen, Early Neo-Classicism in France, London, 1974, fig. 210; and a pair sold in these Rooms, 13 June 1991, lots 30 and 31, from the collection of George William, 6th Earl of Coventry, one of the earliest collectors of early neo-classical furniture).
Marigny patronised, among others, Boucher, Greuze, Vernet, Chardin and the Van Loo, Louis-Michel being the most talented of Jean-Baptiste van Loo's sons, and, according to Michael Levey (op. cit., pp. 173-4), a far better portrait painter than his father. His clientele was varied; he is probably the only painter to have made official full-length portraits of Louis XV as well as a portrait of Diderot. In 1727 Louis-Michel accompanied the painter Boucher and his uncle, Carle van Loo, to Rome. Soon after he was appointed court painter to the Spanish Bourbon court under King Philip V, remaining in Madrid until 1757. On his return to Paris, Van Loo became a frequent exhibitor at the Salon and was awarded the position of Directeur de l'Ecole royale des Elèves protégés in 1765. His popularity both with sitters and with the general public seems to have derived from his ability to convey convincing likenesses, luxurious fabrics and realistic settings as well as the acute characterization and sense of intimacy so successfully conveyed in the present picture.
Due to the nature of the relationship between the sitters, Van Loo's picture was indirectly criticised at the Salon. The love for public scandal, which plagued the political life of the late part of King Louis XV's reign, placed this picture under the close scrutiny of critics. Marigny's recent marriage to the notably younger Julie de Filleul (1751-1804) was indeed much discussed. Rumours about their unsuitability fueled attempts by critics to read into the composition a public avowal of their marital discord.
Marigny was also painted by both Louis Tocqué and Alexandre Roslin. Tocqué's portrait (at Versailles), painted in 1755, was exhibited at the Salon of the same year and was engraved by Jean-Georges Wille for his reception piece, itself exhibited at the 1761 Salon. Roslin painted Marigny's official portrait in 1761 (a replica of the lost original is at Versailles) and a portrait of the Marquise de Marigny which was exhibited at the 1767 Salon. The latter prompted Diderot to comment in 1769 that he preferred the present picture by Van Loo, 'Michel a laissé Roslin bien derrière de lui' (Diderot, op. cit., p. 69)