Circle of Pierre Mignard, ca. 1690

Circle of PIERRE MIGNARD (Troyes, 1612-Paris, 1695).
French school, ca. 1690.
"Alleged Portrait of Mme Soubise as Fame".
Oil on canvas. Relined.
Unsigned.
Good state of preservation.
Another identical piece attributed to Pierre Mignard is in the Museo De Cidade "Quiñones de León" in Vigo, and comes from the legacy of Policarpo Sanz.
Measurements: 58 x 50 cm; 79 x 70 cm (frame).
This female portrait is painted in a precious language characteristic of Pierre Mignard, a great 17th century portraitist. The sitter, a young lady conceived as Mme Soubise as Fame, is depicted half-length, in a dynamic pose, holding a musical instrument in her left hand. The delicate chromaticism and subtle brushstrokes of this work can be related to the circle of the painter Pierre Mignard. Mignard first trained with Jean Boucher in Bourges and then in 1633 he moved to Simon Vouet's studio in Paris. Two years later he went to Rome, where he arrived in 1636 and where he remained for more than twenty years, until October 1657. There he became acquainted with the leading exponents of classical idealism, such as Domenichino and Nicolas Poussin, whose painting was based on the study of antique sculptures and the works of Raphael through the sieve of Annibale Carracci. However, Mignard was also aware of other new trends in Roman painting at the time, such as Neo-Venetianism. His interest in the great Venetian masters of the previous century was so strong that it prompted him to make a trip to the lake city and northern Italy in 1654 and 1655. In 1657 he returned to France, passing through Avignon and Fontainebleau - where he portrayed Louis XIV - before arriving in Paris. Portraiture was the genre in which he excelled, and he gained a great reputation with his depictions of prominent court figures in elegant allegorical compositions. Nor did he disdain historical painting, the most honourable genre according to contemporary academic postulates; at the same time he produced works of great commitment, such as the decoration of the dome of the abbey of Val-de-Grâce (Paris) for Anne of Austria in 1663, where he was able to apply the teachings of Giovanni Lanfranco that he had received in Rome. The death of the minister Colbert brought down the undisputed fortune that the first painter Charles Le Brun had enjoyed until then, and the rise to power of Louvois, Mignard's protector, placed him in an ideal position to obtain royal rewards. From then on, his courtly success only increased and Le Brun's death in 1690 made him the king's first painter and director of the Academy. The Museo del Prado holds several works related to Pierre Mignard, all from the royal collections.