Nicolas de Largillière (October 10, 1656 - March 20, 1746), French painter, was born in Paris.
His father, a merchant, took him to Antwerp at the age of three. As a boy, he spent nearly two years in London. Sometime after his return to Antwerp, a failed attempt at business led him to the studio of Goubeau. However, Largillière left at the age of eighteen to seek his fortune in England, where he was befriended and employed by Lely, for four years at Windsor.
His skills attracted Charles II, who wished to retain him in his service, but the fury aroused by the Rye House Plot against Roman Catholics alarmed Largillière. He left for Paris where he was well received by Le Brun and Van der Meulen. Despite his Flemish training as a portrait-painter, his reputation was soon established. Largillière's brilliant colour and lively touch attracted celebrities of his day--actresses, public men and popular preachers flocked to his studio. President Lambert, with his beautiful wife and daughter, were among his most noted subjects.
James II requested Largillière to return to England upon his accession to the throne in 1685. He may have declined the office of keeper of the royal collections, but during a short stay in London, he painted portraits of the king, the queen and Prince of Wales. The portrait of the Prince of Wales could not have been painted during his stay in London because the prince was not born until 1688. The three portraits painted by Largillière of the prince in his youth must have been executed in Paris he returned sometime before March 1686 when he was received by the Academy as a member; he presented his diploma picture the fine portrait of Le Brun, which is now in the Louvre.
Largillière also executed still life paintings, but excelled in historical portraits(see "Crucifixion", engraved by Roettiers). Horace Walpole states that he left behind works in London by Pierre van der Meulen and Sybrecht. Several of his works are inVersailles. The church of St. Etienne du Mont in Paris portrays Largillière's finest example of a large multi-figure work. Painted in 1694, the work was an ex voto offered by the city to St Genevieve; it contains portraits of the leading officers of the municipality. Largillière was awarded every post of honour in the Academy until 1743 when he was made chancellor.
Jean-Baptiste Oudry was the most distinguished of his pupils. Largillière's work found skillful interpreters in Van Schuppen, Edelinck, Desplaces, Pierre Drevet, Pitou and other engravers. His nephew, Jacob van Schuppen, was also a painter. The artistic period of Louis XIV (1638-1715) may be recognized for portraits like "Roi Soleil" by Hyacinthe Rigaud in 1701, and academy-founder and painter Charles Le Brun. However, no artist captured the French court and fashions of this time as well as Nicolas de Largillière. Unfortunately, his brilliant use of oil paints during his time serving Louis XIV, received less recognition than his friend and foe, Rigaud.
Upon the ascension of King James II (1685-1688), Largillière was invited back to England and was offered the position of supervision over the royal collections. Still uneasy after the horror of 1683, Largillière politely rejected. Largillière did, however, spend a short time in London to paint the Stuart King, King James in 1686. In golden armor with a attention-grabbing white cravat, King James is positioned in front of a watercolour-like background set in a round frame. Capturing the representation of wig curls, like fur 200 years earlier, was vital to achieve success in the royal courts. Largillière skillfully portrayed curls as shown in the King James portrait. While in London, Largillière also started a portrait of the Queen, similar to his portrait of Mari-Anne de Bourbon in the 1690s, and a portrait of the Prince of Wales after 1688. Two years earlier while in Paris, Largillière produced a portrait of the painter Charles Le Brun for his admittance to the French Academy. The portrait is probably Largillière’s most recognized portrait of the 17th Century, showing Le Brun at work on an Entombment, surrounded by classical busts and figurines scattered upon the floor and table. It is very likely that Largillière’s portrait was based on a self-portrait by Le Brun completed around the same time. The self-portrait by Le Brun has same inquisitive gaze and clothes that are presented in Largillière’s portrait of Le Brun. During this time, Charles Le Brun was the chairman of the Academy and under his leadership, the Academy produced some of the greatest works attributed to the time of Louis XIV. Le Brun, so flattered by Largillière's portrait, accepted him to the Academy as an honoured member.
In 1690, Largillière is documented by the French Academy as a historical painter, a prominent artistic trend of the French academy until the introduction of Edouard Manet. However although Largillière excels himself with these historical works, the greatest of which came in 1694 when Largillière decorated part of the St.Etienne du Mont in Paris in 1694, his forte is definitely with portraits of the nobles of Baroque Paris. In the St Etienne du Mont, Largillière masterfully handles the large number of figures; the canvases are also thought to be an ex-voto to the city of St.Genevieve. Another historical painting by Largillière, ‘The Entry of Christ into Jerusalem’, of 1720, shows Largillière’s landscape painting ability. Both these works excelled Largillière further up the Hierarchy of the French Academy.
In 1693, Largillière painted the Governor of Arras, Pierre de Montesquiou, to celebrate his promotion to brigadier in 1691. Largillière is conservative is his strokes; the duke confident in his pose and elegant in his wares, shown in the quality and realism of the face and clothes, credited to this technique. Since Velázquez’s ‘El Nino de Vallecas’, Baroque portrait painters have traditionally added a landscape in the background of all if not most of their portraits. Largillière’s first portrait to demonstrate this element was also his greatest work is in the field of portraiture, painted in around 1700, and probably Largillière’s most realistic work, ‘Man in a purple Robe’, now in Kassel is a wonder of eighteenth century portraiture. The delicate handling of the curls on the wig, and the penetrating but warming gaze of the sitter, makes this one of the masterpieces of the High Baroque. Largillière allows for quite a free handling of paint in many areas, and so differs from delicate Rigaud. The style is very similar to the portrait of Charles Boucher two years later, where Largillière creates strong shadows and contrasts to sculpt Boucher’s face and mould the hair on his flowing wig. In this painting, Largillière uses similar poses, lightings and oil techniques to Velázquez, and his own of this period. Probably Largillière’s most challenging work came in 1709. ‘The Family of Louis XIV’, shows the king and queen, the future Louis XV and the Duc du Biron. The King displays a sense of slight uneasiness unlike the other figures especially the Duc du Biron. In the painting, Largillière displays the three artistic disciplines, a landscape, behind the Prince, a still life behind the queen, and of course, the portraits of the Bourbon. In the painting, Largillière uses old the Renaissance technique of structured disposition, the line of view between the figures. A year later, Largillière painted a self portrait, the only fully lit and outdoor self portrait with two female members of his family, believed to be his wife and daughter both delicately painted using pale tones. The sunset background is typical of Largillière and of the period. The portrait is the only self portrait by Largillière to be of a different pose, as the rest of Largillière’s self portraits of the 1600s onwards show the artist at his easel in darkness. In 1714, Largillière painted one of his best known, however unconventional, works. ‘The Study of Different Types of Hands’ now in the Louvre, is strikingly realistic and proves Largillière’s skill at this subject, a hurdle at which many artists have fallen. The hands show Largillière’s large oil spectrum. From areas of thick paint, the hands, to others with very thin layers, areas of fabric. This is one of the secrets of Largillière’s magnificent feel for textures. In that same year 1714, Largillière painted the Duke of Saxony, Frederick the Strong, in armour and a fine wig, with a panoramic landscape view behind the pompous figure. The portrait is almost identical in composition to Largillière’s portrait of the Duc de Biron showing a similar figure to the former, painted in the same year. Largillière also painted the artist Jacques-Antoine Arlaud in a fine red robe in a similar fashion to Largillière’s portrait of the painter Charles Le Brun. Largillière also painted the sculptor Nicolas Couston in a similar fashion.
In 1718, Largillière painted the French poet and essayist Voltaire. The portrait is probably Largillière’s most confrontational portrait. Voltaire stares, secretively grinning in front of a murky blue background causing the audience to question the sitter's current thoughts. Towards the end of his life, Largillière painted a repetition of anonymous male portraits of Parisian nobles. One example was painted in 1710, of a man standing with spread fingers that conceal a letter held in the other hand. The most notable aspects are a striking red robe, an evening reddish landscape and a stunning ‘Hals’-like quality of the face. Another portrait from about 1715 shows a frontal three quarter view of a man dressed in similar clothes and wig with a Doric column in the background. This composition is repeated again and again. This portrait is similar to the ‘Portrait of Anne Louis Comte Richebourg’, painted in 1734 when Largillière was 77 years of age. Another anonymous portrait of 1720, showing a wealthy gentleman, in the finest lace and wig, a Doric column overlooking a background is painted at Largillière’s peak of portraiture. As with the ‘Man in a purple Robe’, Largillière’s dazzling skill of creating a warming expression is clearly visible, as with many of these portraits.
Largillière’s last self-portrait in 1725 displays the artist at his easel looking towards the audience. Largillière's realistic style portrait used paint to create a variety of textures and a technique called ‘chiaroscuro’ that distinguishes light against a dark background. Largillière’s last grand administrative achievement was in 1743, three years before his death, when he was appointed as chancellor of the French Academy. Upon his death, Largillière donated to France several small landscapes and still life that were rarely seen before his death. ‘Wooded Landscape’, now in the Louvre, is a studio version of an original sketch.
Largillière utilized elements of the Baroque styles and added more light and realistic forms to incorporate into his own works. Largillière captured the High Baroque’s fashions and people for the general public rather than for the private galleries of the pious Louis XIV. By Largillière portraying nobles and royalty in their environment, we now have some insight into this period. At the age of 89, Nicolas de Largillière died on the March 20, 1746, leaving his pupil Nicolas Oudry a firm base on which to build an artistic career.
Largillière, a skillful realistic painter, received fame shared by Le Brun and Rigaud, but today, is not celebrated as an influential Eighteenth century artist.
The Ashmolean Museum (University of Oxford), the Fitzwilliam Museum (University of Cambridge), the Honolulu Academy of Arts, the Louvre, the National Gallery of Art (Washington D.C.) and Pinacoteca di Brera (Milan) are among the public collections holding works by Nicolas de Largillière.
Gallery
Portrait of Elizabeth Throckmorton
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Portrait of Louise-Madeleine Bertin, Countess of Montchal
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Portrait of a Man in a Purple Robe
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Self-portrait with family
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Portrait of Marguerite Bécaille
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Portrait of Pierre-Joseph Titon de Cogny
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Portrait of Jeanne-Cécile Le Guay de Montgermon
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Portrait of a Gentleman (possibly Pierre Van Schuppen)
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This article incorporates text from the Encyclopædia Britannica Eleventh Edition, a publication now in the public domain.
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