Charles André van Loo, 1705 Nizza – 1765 Paris, zugeschrieben

Pair of paintingsMUSEAL PAINTINGS OF A ROYAL WEDDING CUTLER Oil on oak. 61.5 x 54 cm. The two paintings are museum pieces and extremely rare. They originally formed the door paintings of a gilded ceremonial carriage, as they were made in Paris for royal state processions and weddings. Van Loo worked together with his employees in the Parisian carriage workshop to create the painterly decoration. The main figures are always by the hand of the master, the secondary decoration by his assistants. As a rule, the depictions contain allegorical references to weddings or coronations. Here, too, the two painted door panels with coronation motifs are painted allegorically. Five putti on banks of clouds appear against a gold leaf background. They depict diminished mythological gods and act in accordance with a wedding event: in one of the pictures, a putto represents the bridegroom as the god Jupiter with a bundle of lightning and a helmet. He points to his royal oval coat of arms with crown. To the left is Mars with a sword, above him Flora holding the crown. At the bottom left is Cupid in a red cloak, Mercury with a book next to his staff on the cloud to the right. The counterpart is dedicated to the royal bride. Five putti on clouds can also be seen here. A girlish putti figure with a pink velum above the still uncrowned coat of arms frame awaits the crown. In the center below the oval coat of arms is the female allegory of Fortuna, with a handsome dowry in the form of raining gold coins. To the left below, two further putti carry the crown of the bridegroom upwards; to the right is the eagle, attribute of Zeus (the bridegroom), flanked by a putto with a trombone (glory). The inner surfaces of the oval coat of arms frames are covered in gold. It can be seen that there are aristocratic coats of arms underneath. The reason for this is that such magnificent coaches and wedding carriages were used several times, with new coats of arms being added each time. These magnificent state coaches were made in Paris. In Germany, Frankfurt am Main was traditionally the city of election and coronation. According to sources, such a magnificent carriage was purchased for 100,000 Rhenish guilders. For example, the golden carriage for the Empress Maria Amalia (1701-1756), who married the Bavarian Elector Karl Albrecht (1697-1745) in 1722, or for the Elector Clemens August of Cologne (1700-1761). Charles van Loo, who was responsible for painting these ceremonial carriages in Paris, received 1,200 louis d'or as "Peintre le plus habile", as well as "une tabatiére et montre" in gold as a bonus. The illustration (Rudolf H. Wackernagel, Munich 2022, p. 66ff) shows the ceremonial coach for Maria Amalia (Marstallmuseum, Nymphenburg Palace), which is also decorated with paintings by Van Loo. The painting style of the pictures shown here completely matches the paintings on the carriage. Charles van Loo came from a Flemish family of painters. He went to Paris in 1720, initially worked with his brother Jean-Baptiste and was awarded the Prix de Rome in 1724. In 1732 he moved to Turin, then from 1733 back to Paris, promoted by Madame Pompadour as a rival to Boucher. Before his death, he was the first painter of the king to be elevated to the nobility. Van Loo was a teacher of Jean-Honoré Fragonard. A.R. Literature: Cf. Rudolf H. Wackernagel, Staats- und Galawagen der Wittelsbacher. Kutschen, Schlitten und Sänften aus dem Marstallmuseum Schloss Nymphenburg, Munich 2002, vol. 2 p. 66 ff. (1381841) (11) Charles André van Loo, 1705 Nice - 1765 Paris, attributed Pair of paintings DEPICTIONS FROM A ROYAL WEDDING CARRIAGE OF MUSEUM-QUALITY Oil on oak panel. 61.5 x 54 cm. The two paintings of museum-quality are extremely rare. Originally, they were the door paintings of a gilt state carriage. Together with his assistants, Van Loo painted the decorations in the Paris carriage workshop.