Portrait of a noblewoman, Jean Ranc (Montpellier 1674 – 1735 Madrid)

Portrait of a noblewoman in a ceremonial dress with Chantilly lace mantilla

Attributed to Jean Ranc
(Montpellier 1674 – 1735 Madrid)

oil on oval canvas, 72 x 59 cm

with 96 x 84 frame

Provenance: Bourbon Castle Collection, France (Saint-Laurent-d'Agny)

In our opinion, this portrait depicting a noblewoman should be placed in the production of the workshop of the French painter Jean Ranc, one of the most significant portraitists of his time and a great interpreter of the French school between the 1696th and XNUMXth centuries. After an apprenticeship in Montpellier in his father Antoine's workshop, in XNUMX Ranc moved to Paris to join the workshop of Hyacinthe Rigaud, subsequently remaining there as a collaborator.

It portrays a woman of high social standing, dressed in a brocade ceremonial dress adorned with a rich white mantilla in Chantilly lace, and immortalized in three-quarter view, with her gaze directed at the viewer. About her, note the careful rendering of her facial features, the attention to the nuances of the complexion, the sharpness of the contours underlined by the light.

We can, by way of comparison, mention the painting 'Portrait d'une grande dame', created by Jean Ranc, and now at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Narbonne, in which we can find the same clothing (see museum link: https:/ /webmuseo.com/ws/musees-narbonne/app/collection/record/398), created between 1700 and 1734, a time interval within which we can easily place our canvas.

Thanks to his proximity to the great painter Rigaud, already established in the field of French portraiture, Ranc began his personal rise in Parisian high society around 1700, and made a great contribution to the emergence of the ceremonial portrait, combining the careful representation of physiognomy and color charm, the psychology of the model and his social status, the splendor of attributes and relaxation of the pose.

The work is presented in a very good state of conservation.

Completed by a magnificent carved and gilded wooden frame of the time.

Complete with authenticity expertise (FIMA ITALIA).

Professional and insured shipping under our responsibility.