486 - Gabriel REVEL (1642–1712)

Gabriel REVEL (1642–1712) Portrait of a Woman in a Pink Drape Before a Landscape, 1706 Oil on canvas, oval format H_90.5 cm W_72.5 cm Signed and dated 1706 lower left Restorations Bibliography: Dominique Brême, “Gabriel Revel: Le Brun’s Collaborator from Champagne at Versailles,” Bulletin du Centre de recherche du château de Versailles, 2015 Born in Château-Thierry in 1643, Gabriel Revel began his training with a family of glass painters before moving to Paris, likely on the recommendation of Jean de La Fontaine. He joined Charles Le Brun’s studio, where he became one of Le Brun’s principal collaborators on major royal projects, notably at Versailles, during the 1670s and 1680s. A renowned history painter and portraitist, he was admitted to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1683. These admission pieces are portraits of the sculptors François Girardon and Michel Anguier. After Le Brun’s death, he settled permanently in Dijon in the early 1690s, where he became one of the leading figures in the art world. In 1688, he received a commission for an allegory of Justice for the ceiling of the Chamber of Petitions of the Parliament of Burgundy in Dijon (now the courthouse). Highly regarded by the Burgundian aristocracy and bourgeoisie, he developed a large clientele there eager to have their portraits painted in the style of the Versailles “Grand Goût.” Painted in 1706, our portrait is likely that of a wealthy woman from among his Burgundian clientele. The choice to place the subject in front of an architectural setting opening onto a landscape reflects the ambition to go beyond mere representation and thus underscores the prestige of the commission. Largely rediscovered through the work of French art historian Dominique Brême, the painter’s previously unseen works continue to emerge. These recent discoveries provide a better understanding of this painter, who, in the shadow of Charles Le Brun, enjoyed a significant artistic career at the turn of the 17th and 18th centuries. Mr. Dominique Brême confirmed the attribution of this painting by email in a communication dated December 26, 2019.