Jean Petitot the Younger
King Louis XIV of France (1638-1715), wearing red-trimmed armour, Venetian lace cravat, the blue moiré sash of the Order of the Saint-Esprit across his chest, 1701
Enamel on gold
Oval, 1 1/4 in. (32mm) high
Philip Mould & Co.
To view all current artworks for sale visit philipmould.com This portrait enamel by Jean Petitot the younger must date to circa 1701 and may have been painted in conjunction...
To view all current artworks for sale visit philipmould.com
This portrait enamel by Jean Petitot the younger must date to circa 1701 and may have been painted in conjunction with Hyacinthe Rigaud (1659-1743), the favoured oil painter of the ‘Sun King’ at this date. The enamel is closest to a portrait of which versions exist in the Prado, Madrid and Louvre, Paris, showing the king in full military glory, the siege of Namur (1692) in the background marking the last time the king led his army in person. It is possible that, despite the date of 1701 on the canvas, that the oil was completed some years before this date.
Louis XIV ruled France for seventy-two years. Shaping France into a strong and centralised country over his long reign, he famously adopted the sun as his emblem. Both Jean Petitot the Elder and his son, commonly known as Jean Petitot the Younger painted the king many times, although he outlived them both. Originally, enamel portraits such as the present work were set as jewelled pendants or ‘portrait boxes’, known as boîte à portrait, surrounded with diamonds, the whole set in a red leather box (hence the moniker boîte à portrait). Only three of these enamel portraits now survive with their original mounts, some with the diamonds removed.[1] With these enamels, Louis was able to bestow his portrait upon visiting diplomats, worthy opponents on the battlefield or loyal courtiers and in doing so disseminated his illustrious image while gifting jewels. If the recipient fell on hard times, the jewels in the frame could be sold while the king’s image could be retained.
Jean Petitot the Younger was the eldest son of the enamellist Jean Petitot (1607-1691) and his wife, Marguerite Cuper. Petitot learnt his trade from his father, and early in his career settled in London, where he remained until 1682. In London he was also responsible for royal portraits, painting enamels of King Charles II. In 1695 he returned to Paris but eventually died in London in 1702.
Petitot’s early self-portraits show a lively man with a keen sense of fashion – including a portrait dated 1676 at the age of twenty-three, where he wears a magnificent, gold-embroidered banyan and cap with red feather.[2] The Petitot workshop would have been kept busy with portraits of the Sun King. The relatively high output from the hands of Petitot father and son, with varying styles and quality, suggest that the Petitot name was an umbrella under which others may have worked. The careful stipple and minute detail seen here are more characteristic of Jean Petitot the Elder’s hand, but he died almost ten years before the fashions seen in the present work came into vogue (including the high ‘horned’ wig). As seen in his self-portraits, Petitot the Younger worked with a lighter, looser hand. The question of attribution continues to be problematic, even when, as in this case, the quality of the painting is extremely fine. The successful Petitot workshop depended on continual demand for portrait enamels of the king, with several hundred personally awarded by the monarch over the course of his long reign.
Portraits of the king were not only gifted to courtiers but also to member of Louis’ family, which was vastly extended via his mistresses. His mistresses were no secret (in fact they often appeared at public events alongside Louis and his queen). He had many illegitimate children, most of whom were married to members of cadet branches of the royal family. Proving more faithful to his second wife, whom he secretly married at the lavish Palace of Versailles in 1683, the formal status of this relationship was never announced or discussed publicly. Louis was eventually succeeded by his five-year-old great-grandson who became Louis XV as he outlived all of his intermediate heirs, including his eldest grandson Louis, the Duke of Bourgogne.
[1] These examples are at the city museum of Bologna, the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague and the Louvre, Paris.
[2] Sold Christie’s, London, 20 November 2013 lot 157.
This portrait enamel by Jean Petitot the younger must date to circa 1701 and may have been painted in conjunction with Hyacinthe Rigaud (1659-1743), the favoured oil painter of the ‘Sun King’ at this date. The enamel is closest to a portrait of which versions exist in the Prado, Madrid and Louvre, Paris, showing the king in full military glory, the siege of Namur (1692) in the background marking the last time the king led his army in person. It is possible that, despite the date of 1701 on the canvas, that the oil was completed some years before this date.
Louis XIV ruled France for seventy-two years. Shaping France into a strong and centralised country over his long reign, he famously adopted the sun as his emblem. Both Jean Petitot the Elder and his son, commonly known as Jean Petitot the Younger painted the king many times, although he outlived them both. Originally, enamel portraits such as the present work were set as jewelled pendants or ‘portrait boxes’, known as boîte à portrait, surrounded with diamonds, the whole set in a red leather box (hence the moniker boîte à portrait). Only three of these enamel portraits now survive with their original mounts, some with the diamonds removed.[1] With these enamels, Louis was able to bestow his portrait upon visiting diplomats, worthy opponents on the battlefield or loyal courtiers and in doing so disseminated his illustrious image while gifting jewels. If the recipient fell on hard times, the jewels in the frame could be sold while the king’s image could be retained.
Jean Petitot the Younger was the eldest son of the enamellist Jean Petitot (1607-1691) and his wife, Marguerite Cuper. Petitot learnt his trade from his father, and early in his career settled in London, where he remained until 1682. In London he was also responsible for royal portraits, painting enamels of King Charles II. In 1695 he returned to Paris but eventually died in London in 1702.
Petitot’s early self-portraits show a lively man with a keen sense of fashion – including a portrait dated 1676 at the age of twenty-three, where he wears a magnificent, gold-embroidered banyan and cap with red feather.[2] The Petitot workshop would have been kept busy with portraits of the Sun King. The relatively high output from the hands of Petitot father and son, with varying styles and quality, suggest that the Petitot name was an umbrella under which others may have worked. The careful stipple and minute detail seen here are more characteristic of Jean Petitot the Elder’s hand, but he died almost ten years before the fashions seen in the present work came into vogue (including the high ‘horned’ wig). As seen in his self-portraits, Petitot the Younger worked with a lighter, looser hand. The question of attribution continues to be problematic, even when, as in this case, the quality of the painting is extremely fine. The successful Petitot workshop depended on continual demand for portrait enamels of the king, with several hundred personally awarded by the monarch over the course of his long reign.
Portraits of the king were not only gifted to courtiers but also to member of Louis’ family, which was vastly extended via his mistresses. His mistresses were no secret (in fact they often appeared at public events alongside Louis and his queen). He had many illegitimate children, most of whom were married to members of cadet branches of the royal family. Proving more faithful to his second wife, whom he secretly married at the lavish Palace of Versailles in 1683, the formal status of this relationship was never announced or discussed publicly. Louis was eventually succeeded by his five-year-old great-grandson who became Louis XV as he outlived all of his intermediate heirs, including his eldest grandson Louis, the Duke of Bourgogne.
[1] These examples are at the city museum of Bologna, the Gemeentemuseum in The Hague and the Louvre, Paris.
[2] Sold Christie’s, London, 20 November 2013 lot 157.
Provenance
Private Collection, Europe