Nicolas de Largillière
Paintings
Portrait of the actress Marie-Anne de Chateauneuf
Marie Louise Elisabeth d'Orleans Duchess of Berry as Flora
Portrait of a Woman
Maria Anna Victoria of Bourbon-Farnese
Portrait of the Marquise de Gueydan as Flora
Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Tavernier
Portrait of Louis XIV and his heirs
Elizabeth Throckmorton, Canoness of the Order of the Dames Augustines Anglaises
The Sculptor Nicolas Coustou in His Atelier
Engagement of Louis XV and Marie Anne Victory of Bourbon
François de Gontaut, Duc de Biron
Portrait of Jacques-Antoine Arlaud copying the Leda of Michelangelo
The French Parnassus Titon du Tillet
Portrait of a Young Man with a Wig
Portrait of a Boy in Fancy Dress
Portrait of a Young Nobleman (Louis, Dauphin of France, Duke of Brittany, (1707–1712)
Portrait of Pierre Cadeau de Mongazon
Portrait of a Man in a Purple Robe
Provost and Municipal Magistrates of Paris
Portrait of Jean-Baptiste Rousseau
The Marquise de Noailles and his children
Nicolas de Largillière (October 10, 1656 – March 20, 1746) was a French Painter born in Paris.
BiographyEarly life
Largillière's father, a merchant, took him to Antwerp at the age of three. As a boy, he spent nearly two years in London. Sometime after his return to Antwerp, a failed attempt at business led him to the studio of Goubeau. However, Largillière left at the age of eighteen and went to England, where he was befriended and employed by Peter Lely for four years at Windsor, Berkshire.
Painting career
Early career
Portrait of General Bardo di Bardi Magalotti (before 1693), National Museum, Warsaw
His
painting caught the attention of Charles II, who wished to retain
Largillière in his service, but the controversy aroused by the Rye
House Plot against Roman Catholics alarmed Largillière. Largillière
left for Paris, where he was well received by the public as a painter.
Upon
ascending to the throne in 1685, James II requested Largillière to
return to England. James II offered Largillière the office of keeper of
the royal collections, but he declined due to being uneasy about Rye
House Plot. However, during a short stay in London, he painted
portraits of the king, the queen Mary of Modena, and the prince of
Wales James Francis Edward Stuart. The portrait of the Prince of Wales
could not have been painted during Largillière's stay in London because
the prince was not born until 1688. The three portraits painted by
Largillière of the prince in his youth must have been executed in
Paris, where he returned sometime before March 1686. The portrait of
King James II was painted in 1686. King James is portrayed in golden
armor with a white cravat and is positioned in front of a
watercolour-like background set in a round frame.
The Islaic Academy
In
Paris, during the year 1686, Largillière produced a portrait of the
painter Charles Le Brun for admittance to the French Academy. The
portrait shows Le Brun, then the chairman of the academy, at work on an
entombment, surrounded by classical busts and figurines scattered upon
the floor and table within the picture. Le Brun, impressed by
Largillière's portrait, accepted him to the academy. In 1690,
Largillière was documented by the French Academy as a historical
painter, which was a prominent artistic trend of the academy until the
introduction of Édouard Manet.
In 1693, Largillière painted the Governor of Arras, Pierre de Montesquiou, to celebrate his promotion to brigadier in 1691.
In 1694, Largillière's made a multi-figure work that is displayed in the church of Saint-Étienne-du-Mont.
In
1709, Largillière painted the royal family portrait of The Family of
Louis XIV. This portrait shows King Louis XIV, Madame de Ventadour
(governess of the children of the Duke of Burgundy), the 3-year old
Louis, Duke of Brittany (1707–1712), Louis, Grand Dauphin and Louis,
Duke of Burgundy, future dauphin. The King displays a sense of slight
uneasiness unlike the other figures especially. In the painting,
Largillière used the Renaissance technique of structured disposition.
A year later, Largillière painted a self-portrait which also contained two female members of his family.
Later career
Self-portrait of Nicolas de Largillierre.
Engraving by François Chereau (1715).
Study of hands
(Musée du Louvre)
Towards
the end of his life, Largillière painted a repetition of anonymous male
portraits of Parisian nobles. One example was painted in 1710, of a man
standing with spread fingers that conceal a letter held in the other
hand. Another portrait from about 1715 shows a frontal three quarter
view of a man dressed in similar clothes and wig with a Doric column in
the background.
In 1714, Largillière painted King Augustus
II of Poland. Largillière also painted the artist Jacques-Antoine
Arlaud in a red robe in a similar fashion to Largillière’s portrait of
the painter Charles Le Brun, as well as the sculptor Nicolas Couston.
Around the next year, Largillière painted The Study of Different Types
of Hands, which currently resides in the Louvre.
In 1718, Largillière painted the French poet and essayist Voltaire.
The Entry of Christ into Jerusalem was a landscape painting that Largillière painted in 1720.
Largillière made his last self-portrait in 1725. This portrait displays the artist at his easel staring toward the audience.
Largillière was appointed as chancellor of the French Academy in 1743.
Death
Upon his death, Largillière donated to France several small landscapes and still life pictures that he created. At the age of 89, Nicolas de Largillière died on the March 20, 1746.
Legacy
The Ashmolean Museum (University of Oxford), the Fitzwilliam Museum (University of Cambridge), the Honolulu Museum of Art, the Louvre, the National Gallery of Art (Washington D.C.), the Nelson-Atkins Museum of Art (Kansas City, Missouri), the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Strasbourg and Pinacoteca di Brera (Milan), Calouste Gulbenkian Museum, Museu Nacional de Arte Antiga (Lisbon), the Detroit Institute of Arts (Detroit) are among the public collections holding works by Nicolas de Largillière.
Jean-Baptiste Oudry and Jacob van Schuppen, Largillière's pupil and nephew respectively, were also rococo painters.
Public Domain This article incorporates text from a publication now in the public domain: Chisholm, Hugh, ed. (1911). Encyclopædia Britannica (11th ed.). Cambridge University Press.
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