Portrait of a Man in a Purple Robe

portrait

Together with Hyacinthe Rigaud, Largillière was the most sought-after French portrait painter of the early 18th century, giving the aristocratic formal portrait developed by Rigaud a sober, more realistic aspect, complementing the magnificent poses and incidental detail with a lifelike rendering of the face. In this portrait of an unidentified sitter in a somewhat extended head-and-shoulders view, the subject looks out, calm and self-assured, his noble features framed by the luxuriant full-bottomed wig and loosely-draped purple robe.

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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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