DIPINTO Lot n° 20

Jacob Ferdinand Voet (1639-1689) Portrait of Louis de Crevant Duc d'Humières c. 1888 Oil on canvas applied to panel. 73.5x58 cm. The work is accompanied by a critical card by Prof. Francesco Petrucci. For comparisons: J. F. Voet Portrait of Louis de Crevant. Castle of Azay-le-Ferron The portrait depicts an austere gentleman framed on the right half profile dressed in armor and cuirass conspicuous bow-tie-papillon of red multi-knot cloth broad brown wig on the head according to the French-influenced fashion of the 1780s. Typical of aristocratic military portraiture of the time borrowed from the official images of Louis XIV is the contrast between the severe tone conferred by the presence of armor and the prissy tone of accessories to express strength power and elegance. This is a high French officer or general whose superior dignity is demonstrated by the presence in the center of the breastplate of the cuirass of a carving with the Cross of the Ordre du Santi-Esprit (Order of the Holy Spirit) better known as the Order of the Cordon Bleau i.e., the cross with bifurcated arms bearing at the inner corners the fleur-de-lis of France and in the center the dove of the Holy Spirit. A very exclusive honor conferred by the King of France himself. In terms of execution, the portrait can be traced to the manner of the Flemish portraitist Jacob Ferdinand Voet one of the greatest specialists in court portraiture of the Grand Siècle to whom it can be referred with absolute certainty. The accurate definition of the painting with respect to the more extreme pictoricism of the Italian period confirms a dating of the painting to the artist's last French period around 1687-89 in accordance with the clothing and identity of the character that is proposed to be established here as we shall see. Typical of Voet are the polished demeanor of the complexion evident in the face and a freer painterly and contemptuous execution with liquid and quick brushstrokes on a background preparation spread to glazes present in the armor and accessories. Of pure touch are the golden highlights of the red border of the breastplates of the armor and the metal of the armor. Vaporous and soft with light, nuanced painting is the definition of the wig. Comparison with the portrait of Louis de Crevant Duc d'Humières preserved in the Château d'Azay-le- Ferron (oil on oval canvas cm. 64 x 48 inv. AF 10) and with the version of the three-quarter-length portrait of a figure set in a landscape with battle in the background preserved at the Musée Bonnat in Bayonne shows remarkable physiognomic affinities. Several engravings taken from Voet's portrait are also known (Jacques Lubin Nicolas de Larmessin etc) that document the importance of the high official and dignitary of Louis XIV's court. Indeed, the portrait under consideration seems to reproduce a further pose of the famous French general posed a few years after the first session referable to 1685. This is evident from the physiognomic details: the upturned nose the stern expression from the deep gaze the dimple in the chin the full lips and the cheeks marked by character wrinkles. The duke in this case is shown slightly fattened and pudgy with a more oval face.