Portrait of Charles Le Brun

portrait

In 1683 Largillière was accepted into the Academy, and in 1686 he submitted as his Diploma work the portrait of Le Brun, now in the Louvre. In this work he applies his Flemish methods to producing what is one of the most typical portraits of the Grand Siècle. He creates a new genre, the state-portrait of an artist.

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About the Artist

Nicolas de Largillière

1656 – 1746

Nicolas de Largillière (Largillierre) was born in Paris but passed his youth in Antwerp and, from c. 1674, spent some years in England as Lely 's assistant. He was thus almost a Flemish painter when he returned to Paris in 1682. He became a member of the Academy in 1686 and ultimately its Director. His principal rival was Rigaud, but Largillière specialized in portraits of the wealthy middle classes, leaving the aristocrats to Rigaud. There are typical examples in London (National Gallery and Wallace Collection), New York (Metropolitan Museum), and Paris (Louvre). The S. Geneviève (Paris, S. Étienne) is the only survivor of the large ex-voto type of picture that he painted for the Corporations. He also painted a few pictures of still-life.

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