Portrait of a young lady by Robert Le Vrac Tournieres (1667-1752), c. 1725

Portrait of a young Lady
Robert Le Vrac Tournières (1667-1752)
18th century French school, circa 1725
Oil on canvas
Dimensions: h. 81 cm, w. 65 cm
Important 18th century Régence period giltwood and finely carved frame
Framed dimensions: h. 107 cm, w. 90 cm

We thank Mr. Eddie Tassel, specialist in Robert Le Vrac Tournières, for confirming the attribution of our portrait to the artist.

The young woman is portrayed at mid-waist, her body turned three-quarters. Her face almost full-frontal, her dreamy gaze barely touches the viewer, allowing it to lose itself in melancholic contemplation. Her large gray eyes with slightly lowered eyelids give her a languid air, while the softness of her facial features is transcribed by a faded touch, and the translucent glazes contribute to the velvety blend of the whole.
Her powdered hair is curled and tied back in a bun, freeing her forehead and revealing her ears, from which escape a few long curly strands falling over her shoulder.
She is wearing a pink silk dress embroidered with gold thread with a wide neckline. The ample sleeve, rolled up to elbow height, reveals her blouse. A large gray satin stole gracefully envelops her face.
The artist brilliantly composes the tumultuous volumes with the angular and brittle folds of the fabric. Light reflections travel across the surface of the fabrics to dissolve into the darkness of the background.

Bibliography:
On the work of Robert le Vrac Tournières see the exhibition catalogue at the Museum of Fine Arts in Caen: Robert Le Vrac Tournières, les facettes d'un portraitiste, by Eddie Tassel and Patrick Ramade; June-September 2014 (Snoeck 2014)

Robert LE VRAC TOURNIERES (Caen 1667-1752)
Son of a tailor from Caen, Robert Le Vrac trained with Bon Boulogne in Paris. He became a member of the Académie de Saint-Luc in 1695. The painter called himself Robert Tournières, this name designating the family's original land, a place near Bayeux. He collaborated with Hyacinthe Rigaud and executed copies of his works in 1698 and 1699. He was accepted as a portrait painter at the Académie in 1702. Tournières was noticed at the Salon of 1704 where he exhibited around twenty works, mainly portraits, individual or collective, and history paintings. Ambitious and resourceful, Tournières did not confine his talent to the narrow genre of portraiture, but dabbled in secular and sacred history, the specialty that earned him a second admission to the Academy as a history painter.
Despite this double admission, it was rather in the art of portraiture that he had a long and brilliant career, almost exclusively in Paris. For nearly half a century, an aristocratic and bourgeois clientele frequented his studio. His singular and recognizable style, while remaining faithful to the formulas defined by Rigaud and Largilliere, reveals honorable talent and expertise. A patient observer, he is known for his delicate colors, the flexibility of his brushwork, and his elegant draperies.
Often neglected and unknown to art critics, unfairly relegated to the background compared to the giants of 18th century portraiture, very rarely engraved by his contemporaries, his work is emerging from oblivion and homage was paid to him by the Caen Museum in 2014 with a monographic exhibition.