Photograph by Ed Pollard, Hasselblad H4D50 - 2017.

Portrait of Charles-François-Paul Le Normant de Tournehem

Artist Louis Tocqué (French, 1696 - 1772)

CultureFrench

Dateca. 1750-52

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions54 1/4 x 41 3/4 in. (137.8 x 106 cm)
Overall, Frame: 65 1/2 x 52 1/2 in. (166.4 x 133.4 cm)

InscribedLower right, reverse side: L. Toquet. pinxit.

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. and Mr. and Mrs. Jacob John Gurdus

Object number71.2097

On View

Chrysler Museum of Art, Gallery 207

DescriptionThis oil on canvas painting is a popular portrait of Le Normant de Tournehem; at least four replicas were made (it is uncertain if this is the prototype). He is pointing to an architectural design on the table, where there is also a bronze statuette of Minerva, who inspires and guides his work.

Label TextLouis Tocqué French, 1696–1772 Portrait of Charles-François-Paul Le Normant de Tournehem, ca. 1750–52 Oil on canvas Lavishly attired in a gold-embroidered coat of apricot velvet, Le Normant de Tournehem is presented in his official role as director-general of royal buildings during the reign of King Louis XV. As such, he stands at the pinnacle of the French art establishment. As is typical of this period, art and love go hand in hand, and Le Normant’s power had to do with both. He was granted his artistic duties after his ward (possibly his daughter), the young Madame de Pompadour, became Louis XV’s mistress. Gift of Mr. and Mrs. Jacob John Gurdus and Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 71.2097 ProvenancePrince Bilosselsky, Leningrad; Bilosselsky-Belozersky sale, Georges Petit, Paris, June 17, 1921 (cat. no. 13); Galerie Jamarin, Paris; Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. and Mr. and Mrs. Jacob John Gurdus to the Chrysler Museum, Norfolk, 1971. Exhibition History"French Paintings from The Chrysler Museum," North Carolina Museum of Art, Raleigh, NC, May 31 - Sept. 14, 1986, Birmingham Museum of Art, Birmingham, AL, Nov. 6, 1986 - Jan. 18, 1987. Published ReferencesArnauld Doria. _Louis Tocqué_. Paris. 1929. pp. 14, 140, under no. 325. Jefferson C. Harrison. _French Paintings from the Chrysler Museum_. The Chrysler Museum. 1986. No. 11. Jefferson C. Harrison. _The Chrysler Museum Handbook of the European and American Collections: Selected Paintings, Sculpture and Drawings_. The Chrysler Museum. 1991. Page 72, #53.