Lot Essay
Painter of the Parisian aristocracy, Nicolas de Largillière was one of the greatest artists active in France in the eighteenth century. Primarily, but not exclusively, a portraitist, he equally excelled in the genres of still life and history painting. Over the course of his career, he transformed the art of portraiture in France, invigorating his paintings with vivid colors and movement, while inventing novel compositions that express the personalities of his sitters.
Jeanne-Henriette Augustine de Fourcy was the daughter of Henri Louis de Fourcy de Chessy. On 3 October 1714, she married Jacques II de Chastenet, marquis de Puységur (1659-1743), at Chessy (Seine-et-Marne). Previously married, her husband had a distinguished military career, having been appointed lieutenant général in 1704, under Louis XIV. In this capacity, he served in Flanders and Spain. Under the French Regency, he sat on the War Council and later was promoted to Maréchal de France in 1734. In 1739, he was awarded the Orders of St. Michael and the Holy Spirit.
We are grateful to Dominique Brême for endorsing the attribution on the basis of photographs (private communication, 7 December 2022). Dr. Brême notes that the portrait must have been painted on the occasion of the sitter’s marriage, together with the portrait of her husband (fig. 1; formerly in the Marjorie Merriweather Post collection and sold Sotheby’s, Paris, 19 December 2017, lot 609). Accordingly, both paintings are datable to 1714 or around 1715. The two portraits remained together at least until they were sold in the 1902 Mniszech sale, but were separated soon thereafter.