The sitter in this superb portrait is shown with the grandiloquence characteristic of the eighteenth-century French school of painting. The young nobleman has been portrayed wearing an ingeniously embellished French ceremonial armour, a mauve cloak, and an abundance of cascading curls falling below his shoulders. Our portrait proclaims to every onlooker that this is a superior being.The manner in which portraits were painted was set out by the terms of the commission and usually marked significant life events such as a betrothal, a death, elevation of rank� but they almost always emphasised the wealth and importance of the sitter. This type of portrait had become a standard format for aristocratic portraiture in Europe during the last quarter of the seventeenth century up to the middle of eighteenth century. Incorporated into the background was often a raging battlefield or a military encampment; our portrait is free from these trappings and contains a dramatic moody sky ensures the viewer focuses mainly on the subject.The features of the sitter�s face have been captured with great sensitivity, his confident gaze perhaps reflecting the near invincibility afforded by this steel suit. The flamboyance and penetrating sense of character, lending an air of noble expectancy to the composition, seems almost eclipsed by the artist''s virtuosic handling of paint. It is not hard to understand why many wealthy sitters commissioned the artist to paint their portraits. Such fine and ornate armour was not actually used on a battlefield and thus its portrayal in portraiture was largely symbolic of a sitter�s wealth and status as well as a claim of succession to a chivalrous tradition. The style of hair and neckcloth were fashionable circa 1740.Held in an exquisite eighteenth century carved and gilded frame - a fine work of art in itself.Louis Tocqu� was a very successful French portrait painter active during the Rococo period of art. His work was known...