163 - Carle VAN LOO (1705–1765), Studio of

Carle VAN LOO (1705–1765), Studio of Portrait of Marie Leszczynska (1703–1768), Queen of France Oil on paper mounted on canvas H_21 × W_16 cm Restorations Related works: -Carle Van Loo, Portrait of Marie Leszczynska, Queen of France, 1747, oil on canvas, Palace of Versailles, inv. MV 8492. -Carle Van Loo, Portrait of Marie Leszczynska, Queen of France, 1747, oil on paper mounted on cardboard, 45 × 34 cm, Louvre Museum, inv. RF 2161. Our small painting follows the composition of the portrait of Marie Leszczynska painted by Carle Van Loo in 1747 at the request of Louis XV and now housed at the Palace of Versailles. The queen is depicted full-length, dressed in a sumptuous court gown, with a small dog at her feet. Presented at the 1747 Salon, this official portrait ranks among the great royal portraits painted by Van Loo. Another small-format portrait of Marie Leszczynska, signed and dated the same year, is housed at the Louvre Museum. Although its composition differs, this small painting, executed in oil on paper mounted on cardboard, offers an interesting comparison to our painting due to its technique and small size. A descendant of a famous dynasty of painters, Carle Van Loo was one of the most prominent artists of Louis XV’s reign. He became the king’s principal painter in 1762 and director of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1763, receiving numerous commissions from the court and the aristocracy. Despite the small size of the work, the very free brushwork of our painting does not detract from the care taken with the fabrics and decorative elements. The spontaneity of the brushstrokes suggests a work executed with freedom rather than a simple copy. The choice of paper as the medium—also used for the autograph reduction in the Louvre—reinforces this connection. These various elements suggest that our painting is a “ricordo” executed by Carle Van Loo himself or by an artist from his studio.