Portrait of a Lady as the Goddess Flora C.1750; Circle of Charles-andré Van Loo (1705-1765)

This large-scale portrait is striking in its portrayal of the sumptuous fabrics and their decorative richness. Beautifully and meticulously rendered throughout, the sitter has been depicted seated in an outdoor setting beside a basket of flowers on a rock, with a glowing summer skylight. The bravura handling of the draperies including the sheer wrap are exquisite and defined with lightness and dexterity. Much of the beauty of this elegant portrait resides in its graceful composition and the tender way in which the lady has been depicted. The lady is likely painted in the guise of the Roman goddess Flora – goddess of flowers and of the season of spring.

Presented in a superb antique gilded frame.

Charles-André van Loo was from a great Franco-Flemish dynasty of painters descended from the genre painter Jan van Loo (born 1585). As the most famous member of the family, Charles (also known as Carle) was acclaimed for his masterful ability to depict a range of subjects and styles. His talent for assimilating and invoking various styles is due to his numerous travels between Italy and France, and to his training with an Italian painter and a French sculptor.

His father, the painter Louis-Abraham van Loo (1653-1712), died when he was still a child, and so Carle was sent to live with his brother, Jean-Baptiste, who at the time was working in Turin for patrons including the Prince of Carignano. In 1714, Jean-Baptiste was sent by the Prince to Rome, and so there the young Carle began formal artistic studies with the painter Apollo Flaying Marsyas. Demonstrating both his fondness for exploiting such stories, as well as a keen mastery of anatomy and classical antiquity, the painting resulted in numerous commissions. The most famous of these was instruction to decorate the apartments of Louis XV at Versailles and the further works for the chateau of Fontainebleau.

In 1733 Van Loo married Christina Antonia Somis, a celebrated opera singer. A year later the couple left for France, probably to escape the escalating warfare in Piedmont. His return to Paris marked the beginning of a brilliant career and was sought after by both royalty and high society. His contemporaries admired him as to them, he seemed to possess a total mastery of artistic traditions, and as a consequence he was immensely successful. He never lacked commissions, and his works were generally acclaimed at the Salons. He also enjoyed many prestigious appointments, such as professor at the Académie Royale (1737); Director of the Ecole Royale des Elèves Protégés (1749); Premier Peintre du Roi (1762); and Director of the Académie Royale (1763). He was ennobled in 1751.

Provenance: Private collection Monaco

Measurements: Height 167cm, Width 142cm, Depth 9cm framed (Height 65.5”, Width 56”, Depth 3.5” framed)

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