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We are grateful to Jacqui Ansell, Senior Lecturer Christie’s Education, for her commentary on men’s fashion which has been incorporated into this catalogue note.
Recent information has come to light which connects this portrait miniature to a self-portrait by the French artist Claude Lefebvre. In 2013, the Eric Coatalem Gallery Gallery, based in Paris, exhibited an oil self-portrait of Claude Lefebvre, which was connected the following year to another version of this self-portrait sold at Artcurial Auctions.[1] A slightly earlier etching by Lefebvre, now at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts, confirms the identity of the sitter.[2]

The sitter also bears a passing resemblance to Charles II, with his long dark hair, full lips and jaunty, small moustache. The length and fullness of his hair as it falls onto the shoulders is typical of a fashionable gentleman of the mid-1650s. At this date the future Charles II was in the Hague picking up fashion tips from continental Europe, introducing them to Britain on his return in 1660. The row of close-set rounded buttons that adorn the front of the doublet are a distinctive feature of the mid seventeenth century. We can get a glimpse of a parallel row through the fine lace of the collar.
This gentleman’s striking pose calls attention to the fine needle lace that adorns his falling bands. We have charted the development of the plain falling band at the end of Elizabeth I’s reign, to wide bobbin-lace collar in the 1630s. Around 1640 the collar resembled that of our modern shirt. Having gone as wide as it was possible to go, falling over the shoulders around 1637, the linen fall of the collar then began to move down the front of the doublet during the 1640s. Two long oblongs of white linen still survive (in smaller fossilised form) in the ‘bands’ that lawyers wear today. Here plain linen is enlivened with very expensive lace, with stylised floral and foliate forms exemplifying the aesthetics of the Baroque era and complementing the luscious curls of this gentleman’s hair. A cloak, dramatically tossed over the shoulder, completes the look.
This fascinating portrait of exceptional quality appears to coincide with Lefebvre’s visit to London, which seems to have occurred shortly after his admission to the Académie Royale in 1663, where he was named assistant professor the following year. This later self-portrait appears to reflect his London influences, emulating the self-portraits of London-based artists Sir Anthony van Dyck (1599-1641), his successor Sir Peter Lely (1618-80), as well as the miniaturist Samuel Cooper (1607/08-1672).[3] Given the high status of portrait miniature painting at this period, the portrait here may have been copied by a miniaturist of the Restoration Court. Earlier, a portrait miniature copy of this quality would have been undertaken by John Hoskins, whose studio in the early 1660s was run by his son, also called John Hoskins (the younger) (1620s-after 1703). As a copy, it is challenging to find a unique hand in this portrait, but the delicate and superior brushwork must denote a professional artist used to working to an unusually high standard. The artist of this portrait demonstrates a clear understanding of the difficult technique of working in watercolour on vellum, skilfully rendering features with vitality. The sense of grandeur here should also be noted and implies that the artist was used to larger, more complex compositions. The Parisian artist and printmaker Louis de Guernier was previously suggested as the artist. His own (probable) self-portrait, engraved by Samuel Bernard (1615-1687), exhibits similar qualities to the present work. The son of a miniature painter, Louis also worked in enamel alongside his brother Pierre.

Claude Lefebvre was born into an artistic family, on site at Fontainebleau, where his father was one of the painters involved in the decoration of the palace. Studying initially under the artist Claude d'Hoey, he moved to Paris where he received instruction from Eustace Lesueur and Charles Lebrun.
In Walpole’s ‘Anecdotes of Painting’, he despairs of the muddle between the various artists named ‘Lefebvre’ and comments that ‘The French author *, from whom I transcribe, says that in that style he equalled the best masters of that country, and that passing into England he was reckoned a second Vandyck.’[4] Here, Lefebvre’s engraved portrait is placed next to that of John Hayls, which itself was taken from a miniature by John Hoskins. Lefebvre’s oeuvre is still in the process of being defined, but it is clear that he was a talented etcher and given the connections between Van Dyck, and the miniature painters John Hoskins (the elder) and Samuel Cooper, it is not impossible that he tried his hand at painting on vellum. If this portrait miniature were by Lefebvre, it would fit well with the artistic curiosity he displays in his accepted works.

[1] We are grateful to Matthew Rose for sending information on this to Lawrence Hendra at the Philip Mould Gallery.
[2] Accession number 2007.726.
[3] The self-portrait of Samuel Cooper dates to circa 1645 and is now in the Royal Collection Trust RCIN 420067.
[4] Walpole, H. Anecdotes of painting in England: with some account of the principal artists; and incidental notes on other arts; collected by the late Mr. George Vertue; and now digested and published from his original MSS. by Mr. Horace Walpole. The second edition. ... [pt.3], p. 31.