This portrait is an excellent example of the type of portrait that was in vogue in France. The sitter is a paragon of the upper echelons of society; sumptuously dressed in a russet gown and a white collarette. The whiteness of the skin and the beautiful expensive fabrics are distinctive elements of the sitter’s high social status. The pink silk lining of the blue wrap has been exposed intentionally as no expense was spared, even the lining was the highest quality. French artists strove to portray the beautiful drapery and their decorative richness as after all, France during this period was the leading exponent of fashion and the arts to the rest of Europe and the fashions arose from the French court itself.This portrait is held in a striking frame decorated with acanthus leaves and acorns.Francois de Troy was born in Toulouse in 1645 and was taught the basic skills of painting by his father, and possibly by Antoine Durand. Around 1662 he went to Paris to study portrait pa...