Portrait of Marie-Louise d'Orleans, attributed to Pierre Mignard

Attributed to Pierre Mignard (Troyes 1612-Paris 1695)
Portrait of Marie-Louise d'Orléans (Paris, 1662 - Madrid, 1689)
17th century French school, circa 1680
Oil on canvas, dimensions: h. 128 cm, w. 96 cm
Louis XIV-style gilded wood frame with "Pierre Mignard" label.
Dimensions with frame: h. 145 cm, w. 128 cm

Important presumed portrait of Marie-Louise d'Orléans, daughter of Philippe d'Orléans and Henriette de France, niece of Louis XIV.
The princess is portrayed half-legged, seated in an armchair, her body turned to the right.
Straight head carriage, looking at the viewer in front, the right arm rests on the armrest while in the right hand she holds a poppy.
Her brown hair is braided, curly, certain locks gathered in the middle above the forehead and held by a jewel and tied with several rows of pearls.
Slightly drooping eyelids, aquiline nose, small mouth and pointed chin, sunken cheeks with prominent cheekbones; the young woman's Bourbon features are very reminiscent of those of her father, Monsieur, the king's brother.
She is dressed in a blue velvet dress embroidered with gold whose rolled-up sleeves, held by gold bracelets and precious stones, reveal the white lace of her blouse. The dress is fastened on the chest by gold clasps with embedded sapphires and rubies.
The fabrics of her dress parted reveal a gold-embroidered satin skirt whose shimmering effect contrasts with heavy blue velvet draperies.
To his right an entablature covered with crimson velvet on which is placed a wicker basket filled with flowers.
Admirably rendered, all the majesty of this theatrical staging accentuates the princely status of the model.
The high-backed armchair upholstered in crimson velvet fringed with gold thread, with armrests in gilded wood, the noble fabrics, the sumptuous jewels are all characteristic signs of the ceremonial portraits in vogue at the court of France.
The princess's face stands out amidst this exuberance by its meditative gravity imbued with a certain melancholy.

Pierre Mignard, painter to the king, executed many portraits of the royal family and nobility of France. Combining rigor and restraint inherited from Philippe de Champaigne, the reigning classicism of Charles le Brun, Pierre Mignard brings softness and delicacy to his works.
Our portrait is part of the history of the artist's work, it is directly linked to the paintings that were painted during the same period, perfectly reflecting the issues of that time.

Related works:

The princesses portrayed in similar poses seated in their armchairs with this singular hairstyle, absent in other painters:
- Portrait of the family of the Grand Dauphin, 1687 (Château de Versailles, MV 1835)
- Family portrait of James II, deposed King of England, 1694 (modello, Palace of Holyroodhouse, United Kingdom), we find an identical armchair which welcomes Queen Mary of Modena in a very similar attitude.
We also find this singular hairstyle:
- Marquise de Seignelay and her two sons, National Gallery, London
- Portrait of Catherine-Marguerite Mignard, Countess of Feuquières, (Château de Versailles, MV 3677)

Pierre Mignard
French painter (Troyes 1612-Paris 1695). A pupil of Vouet, he worked in Italy, especially in Rome, from 1635 to 1657, before returning to Paris at the request of Louis XIV; he then carried out several orders, such as the dome of the Val-de-Grâce (1663). A renowned portrait painter, he was able to flatter the model, but also to mix expression with grace in clear and fresh tones, the opposite of the majesty of Le Brun. On the death of his rival (1690), he succeeded him as first painter to the king and director of the Gobelins factory. He executed many portraits of Louis XIV.

Marie-Louise d'Orléans, known as "Mademoiselle d'Orléans" or simply "Mademoiselle"1 was a French princess, born March 26, 1662 in Paris and died February 12, 1689 in Madrid. She was Queen of Spain, Sicily and Naples, Duchess of Burgundy, Milan, Brabant, Luxembourg and Limburg and Countess of Flanders and Hainaut by her marriage to the last king from the Spanish branch of the house. of Habsburg, Charles II.