18th c. French Portrait of a Lady by Jean Ranc (1674 - 1735), Paris circa 1700
Portrait of a Lady with carnations
By Jean Ranc (Montpellier 1674 - Madrid 1735), circa 1700
Oil on canvas in oval shape,
Dimensions: h. 35.82, w. 28.34 in.
Period Louis XIV giltwood and carved frame with laurel leaves.
Framed dimensions: h. 42.52 in, w. 33.85 in.
Provenance: Collection of the Marquis de Bailleul at the Château d'Angerville-Bailleul (before 1942).
To be included in the catalog raisonné of the artist by Stephane Perreau
Important portrait of a young woman depicted half-length turned three-quarters, her face looking at the viewer.
Dressed in a brick red velvet dress, an elegant blue scarf envelops her figure.
Hair styled “a la Fontange”, her powdered hair is raised and tied at the back with a red ribbon, several curly locks escape from her bun and fall on her back and shoulders.
The perfectly oval face with regular features dominated by her straight nose is softened by her gray eyes with slightly lowered lids. The red tinged skin tones on the cheeks and cheekbones color the face and make the portrait come alive.
The young woman is portrayed standing near a pot of carnations. Her strongly lighted figure stands out against an architectural background of columns.
The artist's palette is made of contrasts opposing warm to cold hues. The icy electric blue contrasts with the fiery brick red, the hair powdered with white accentuates even more the flush of the cheeks.
The left arm bent at the elbow, extending the open hand with slightly bent fingers in the foreground brings depth to the composition.
Our portrait, an interesting testimony in the corpus of works of the painter, is part of his youthful period, around 1700-1705.
The former belonging of this portrait to the Marquis de Bailleul reinforces the remarkable character of our painting.
The portrait has been examined by Stéphane Perreau, specialist of Jean Ranc and will be included in the catalog raisonné currently being written, under number P. 43. The notice edited by Mr Perreau is below:
"Painted around 1700-1705, this portrait of a woman is directly inherited from Hyacinthe Rigaud, the master of Jean Ranc (the hand turned over the front, in a watch...
Category
Early 18th Century Old Masters Portrait Paintings
