Marketplace
Portrait of a Gentleman, wearing a crimson cloak, beige waistcoat, white stock and cravat, and a full-bottomed wig
Retour à toutes les oeuvres d'art

Circle of JEAN ANDRE ROUQUET

Portrait of a Gentleman, wearing a crimson cloak, beige waistcoat, white stock and cravat, and a full-bottomed wig

The Limner Company : Portrait Miniature

Date Circa 1720-1730

Medium Watercolour on ivory

Dimension 3.8 cm (1¹/₂ inches)

Clearly influenced by the work of Swiss artist Jean Andre Rouquet, the present work is possibly by the hand of a student or member of the artist’s circle. It differs from the work of Rouquet in that this artist depends less on a stippling technique, instead using small strokes of paint to create texture in the skin of the sitter, and the background of the portrait. However, the handling of facial features, especially the eyes and lips of the gentleman, show that whoever was painting this must have been aware of Rouquet’s work. 

This unidentified gentleman wears a full-bottomed wig, a name that refers to the fact that the hair was left down, rather than styled en queue, or as a bag wig. It is possible to see how the artist has built up colour in the gentleman’s cloak, which falls, rather informally, off of his right shoulder in the foreground of the portrait. Further informality has been added with the visibility of the bottom of the sitter’s cravat, which pokes out just above the closure of his cloak and waistcoat. In many other portraits this would be shown tucked in, or at least with a finer, closed, finish on the end. Both of these features suggest that this portrait was not intended to be gifted formally but was instead painted for someone close to the sitter.

Date: Circa 1720-1730

Medium: Watercolour on ivory

Dimension: 3.8 cm (1¹/₂ inches)

Provenance: Christie's, London, 10 July 1984, lot 69.

Découvrez la galerie
image

The Limner Company : Portrait Miniature

Potrait miniatures from the 16/17th century, the 18th century and 19th century

An unhandled error has occurred. Reload 🗙