4x5 transparency scanned on Hasselblad Flextight X1 by Ed Pollard-2012.

Images(2)

Image scanned from a transparency and color-corrected by Pat Cagney.

Portrait of a Man

Artist Hyacinthe Rigaud (French, 1659-1743)

Date1696

MediumOil on canvas

Dimensions53 1/4 x 41 1/4 in. (135.3 x 104.8 cm)
Overall, Frame: 73 x 61 in. (185.4 x 154.9 cm)

ClassificationsEuropean art

Credit LineGift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr.

Object number77.409

Terms

Man
Black
White
Red
Brown
France

Collections

European Art before 1945

On View

Not on view

DescriptionThis is an oil on canvas portrait of a man wearing a black robe, seated in a red chair, and shown in three quarter-length. His right hand rests on a ornate marble-top table, and his left hand holds the top edge of a large book in his lap.

Label TextHyacinthe Rigaud French (1659 1743) Portrait of a Man, 1696 Oil on canvas With the completion of his portrait of King Louis XIV in 1701, Hyacinthe Rigaud became the mostb prominent portraitist of the French upper classes during the first half of the 18th century. He was besieged with portrait commissions from French aristocrats, high ranking churchmen, and wealthy Parisian professionals. In 1727 he was ennobled by Louis XV, and in 1733 he was named director of France's Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture. The Chrysler's portrait conveys the ceremony and grandeur that were the hallmarks of Rigaud's art. Though the sitter's identity is not yet known, his formal pose, official black robes, and the large book he balances upon his lap suggest he was a man of position and learning a lawyer, perhaps, or a member of the Paris Parliament. The damask covered chair he sits in, the elaborately carved gilt wood table, and even the book he holds were all studio props, repeatedly used by Rigaud to speed his portrait production. Gift of Walter P. Chrysler, Jr. 77.409