Offered by Galerie Gilles Linossier
Rare and beautiful pastel representing a young man in a blue Drouais jacket.
It is presented the head of three quarter.
A little chubby, his lips very pink and pursed in a small smile, this young boy looks at the viewer.
He wears a beautiful velvet effect jacket adorned with a lace jabot very finely represented by small touches of white and airy color.
The headdress, called pigeon wings, is rolled up and partially covers the ears. Her hair is tied at the back with a white lace ribbon and a light blue halo surrounds her face.
In a representation with cold colors and a delicate and melted touch, Drouais offers us here the touching portrait of a young man from a good family.
The pastel is signed lower right "Drouais" and dated 1752.
Very beautiful period frame in carved, chiseled and gilded wood, with a central cartridge marked "F.H. DROUAIS 1727-1775" and on the back four period seals, in wax.
Francois-Hubert Drouais (1727-1775)
Also called "Drouais le fils", he is one of the most recognized painters and pastellists, specializing in portraits at the end of the reign of Louis XV.
From a family of artists, of whom his father, Hubert Drouais and his son Jean Germain Drouais were also known, he was considered one of the most refined portrait painters of the 18th century.
Pupil of Carle Van Loo, Charles Joseph Natoire and François Boucher, whose touch we appreciate, he was received as a member of the Royal Academy in 1758.
His notoriety only grew and he became the painter par excellence of the nobility.
Favorite painter of Madame de Pompadour for whom he produced a famous portrait preserved to this day at the National Gallery in London, but also painter for Madame de Barry and many other noble Versaillese, he is still appreciated today for the quality of his work. his soft and delicate portraits.
It is exhibited in many museums around the world, including:
At the Frick Collection in New York, at the National Gallery in London, at the Musea Nazionale di Palazzo Venezia in Rome or in several French museums such as the Musée Condé de Chantilly, the Musée des beaux-arts d'Orléans, or the Nissim-de-Camondo museum in Paris.
Also, several of his works went up for auction during his last years. Including a very beautiful pastel of a young woman in pink,
estimated at no less than 40,000 – 50,000 euros in 2021
yet unsigned.
Dimensions: H 60cm x W 52cm
