193 - Louis ELLE, known as FERDINAND the Elder (1612–1689)

Louis ELLE, known as FERDINAND the Elder (1612–1689) Presumed portrait of Louis FABERT (1651–1669) Oil on panel H: 36.3 x W: 27.3 cm Restored Bears a pencil inscription on the reverse: “M Lacouture / à / Franchesse” Bibliography: -Élodie VAYSSE, “Louis Elle ‘the Elder’ and the Fashion for Small Portraits in Paris in the Mid-17th Century (1640–1660),” in *La Revue des Musées de France*, 2019, 4, pp. 45–58 -Élodie VAYSSE, The Elle “Ferdinand” Family: Painting as a Legacy. A Parisian Workshop in the Grand Siècle (1601–1717), thesis from the École des Chartes, supervised by Alain Mérot, 2015. Provenance: -Private collection, from a château Related Works: -Louis ELLE, known as FERDINAND the Elder, Portrait of Charles Paris, Count of Saint-Pol, oil on panel, 40.6 x 31.6 cm, Musée du château de Versailles, V.2017.10.1. - Louis ELLE, known as FERDINAND the Elder, Portrait of Jean Louis Charles d’Orléans, Count of Dunois, oil on panel, 40 x 31.4 cm, Musée du château de Versailles, V.2017.10.2. - Louis ELLE, known as FERDINAND the Elder, Portrait of an Unknown Young Girl, oil on panel, 42.2 x 34 cm, Musée du château de Versailles, V.2017.10.3. - Louis ELLE, known as FERDINAND the Elder, Portrait of an Unknown Young Woman, oil on panel, 43 x 34.4 cm, Musée du château de Versailles, V.2017.10.4. - Louis ELLE, known as FERDINAND the Elder, attributed to, Portrait of Abraham Fabert, oil on panel, 36.5 x 27.8 cm, Musée Condé, Chantilly, PE 599. Born into a family of painters of Flemish origin who settled in Paris in the early 17th century, Louis Elle, known as Ferdinand the Elder (1612–1689), was one of the most sought-after portraitists of his time. A founding member of the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture in 1648, he worked for prominent aristocratic families and the court of the Sun King. Our painting is part of a series of panel portraits characteristic of his work. The Château de Versailles’s 2017 acquisition of four portraits depicting the presumed children of the Duchess of Longueville has provided a better understanding of this aspect of his oeuvre. The similar dimensions and the medium of our painting—an oak panel composed of three planks—confirm the stylistic and technical similarities with this series. Our portrait can also be linked to two compositions attributed to Louis Elle, traditionally associated with Marshal Abraham de Fabert (1599–1662). The first, housed at the Musée Condé in Chantilly, depicts the marshal in armor and corresponds to the model popularized by Gérard Edelinck’s engraving. The second, which went on sale at Joron-Derem in Paris in 2019, features a similar composition. The latter had been linked to the portraits by Louis Elle held at the Metz Museum. These various paintings demonstrate the use of common stylistic conventions in the depiction of the armor, the command sash, and particularly in the subject’s pose. Born into a prominent Metz family, Abraham de Fabert led a brilliant military career in the service of Louis XIII and Louis XIV. Appointed Marshal of France in 1658, he became one of the leading military figures of his time. His son, Louis de Fabert (1651–1669), continued this family tradition in a military career. He was killed at the age of only eighteen during the Siege of Candia in 1669, as part of a French expedition sent to support the Republic of Venice against the Ottomans. His premature death occurred during a military campaign that proved particularly deadly for the French nobility. The resemblance of our painting to portraits of the Fabert family, as well as the youth of our subject, support the identification of the subject as Louis de Fabert. The presence of the command sash attests to his military rank and reinforces this hypothesis. Our painting may thus have been created posthumously, as a tribute to the young officer who fell in battle.