Attributed to Henri Gascar

Attributed to HENRI GASCAR (Paris,1635 -Rome, 1701).
"Portrait of Christina of Sweden".
Oil on canvas.
Measurements: 114 x 89 cm; 141 x 110,5 cm.

This portrait attributed to Henri Gascar represents with courtly elegance Christina of Sweden, one of the most fascinating figures of the European 17th century. The lady appears seated, slightly turned to her left, while her gaze is directed with aplomb to the viewer. Her bearing is majestic: her expression conveys a subtle combination of security and contemplation. The oval face, with a high forehead and finely arched eyebrows, is modeled with an almost porcelain-like delicacy, where the light gently caresses the cheekbone and forehead, leaving the contours in semi-darkness. The gesture of the right hand, rising towards the head as if adjusting a lock of hair, introduces a detail of refined coquetry, in keeping with the courtly feminine iconography of the Baroque. The dress is a display of textile richness and pictorial virtuosity. The brocade of the bodice is strewn with golden reflections, and is complemented by wide sleeves and meticulously worked white lace, which spills like foam over the arms. The green damask silk of the skirt, sumptuous and heavy, folds in naturalistic undulations that reveal the painter's technical skill. A pearl necklace adorns her alabaster collar. The back of the carved armchair and the crimson drapery background provide the necessary aristocratic backdrop to emphasize the character's hierarchy.

Christina of Sweden (1626-1689) was a philosopher queen, a Catholic by conversion, a patron of the arts and an enemy of gender conventionality, who abdicated the Swedish throne and settled in Rome, where she cultivated intellectual friendships with figures such as Descartes and Bernini. The portrait does not present her with conventional warlike or regal attributes, but with an aura of cultivated intelligence, resolute femininity and a certain free-spirited melancholy. It is, in that sense, a profoundly modern portrait.

Henri Gascar was a French painter who achieved artistic success in England during the reign of Charles II. He painted many court ladies, including several of the king's mistresses, before returning to Paris. Gascar was born in Paris. He arrived in England around 1674, probably at the behest of Louise de Keroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth, Charles II's favorite mistress. Gascar was already known as a skilled portraitist; among the portraits he had already painted was that of Nicolas de Lafond, author of the "Gazette of Holland", painted in 1667 and engraved by Peter Lombart. The patronage of the Duchess of Portsmouth ensured Gascar's rapid success in England.

Among the portraits he painted while in England were Charles II (engraved by Peter Vanderbank); Louise, Duchess of Portsmouth (twice, once engraved by Étienne Baudet); Barbara, Duchess of Cleveland (née Villiers), and her daughter, Barbara Fitzroy; Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond; Frances Stewart, Duchess of Richmond; George FitzRoy, 1st Duke of Northumberland; Nell Gwyn; Sophia Bulkeley (engraved by Robert Dunkarton); Edmund Verney; and Philip Herbert, 7th Earl of Pembroke. A portrait of James II as Duke of York by Gascar was part of the king's collection. Upon his return to Paris, Gascar was elected a member of the Académie Royale on October 26, 1680. He then moved to Rome, where he enjoyed a great reputation and died on January 1, 1701, at the age of 66. By 1698 he had painted a portrait of Joseph Ferdinand, the young son of Maximilian II, which was engraved in Munich by Zimmermann.