Francis Cotes Portrait Paintings

Giusto (or Justus) Sustermans (Antwerp, 1597 – Florence, 1681) Workshop of Portrait of Ferdinando II de' Medici (1610–1670), Grand Duke of Tuscany Oil on canvas 133 x 97 cm Fram...

Peintre actif à Rome au XVIe siècle - entourage de Scipione Pulzone (Gaeta 1550 - Rome 1598) La Pietà (Christ mort soutenu par la Madone) huile sur t...

Guido Reni (Bologna 1575 - 1642) Workshop of Saint Catherine of Alexandria (full details LINK) Oil on canvas Measurements (cm): 96 x 73 - with frame 112 x 88 This splendid work dep...

Bolognese school of the seventeenth century Circle Giovanni Battista Ramenghi, known as Bagnacavallo (Bologna, 1521 - 1601) Oil painting on canvas (86 x 72 cm. - With antique frame ...

Painted in the 19th century, this exquisite miniature portrait wonderfully exemplifies realism in traditional oil painting. The small artwork is painted in the conventional portraiture style of the Old Masters, and achieves soft realism with fine brushwork and a subdued, neutral palette. The half length portrait depicts a fine Victorian woman dressed in all black with a delicate lace collar and bonnet. She wears a ruby broach...

The Nativity of Jesus Flemish school, late 16th/early 17th century Gerard David (Oudewater, c. 1460 - Bruges, 1523) Follower of Oil on copper 30 x 25 cm. - In frame 47 x 42 c...

These two royal portraits are a major historical testimony to the stay of the Comte d'Artois (the future Charles X) and his family in Edinburgh in 1796-1797. Given by the sitters to Lord Adam Gordon, the Governor of Edinburgh, and kept by family descent to this day, these two portraits provide us with a vivid and spontaneous image of the Duc d’Angoulême and his brother the Duc de Berry. Danloux, who had emigrated to London a few years before, demonstrate his full assimilation of the art of British portrait painters in the brilliant execution of these portraits. 1. Henri-Pierre Danloux, a portraitist in the revolutionary turmoil Born in Paris in 1753, Henri-Pierre Danloux was first a pupil of the painter Nicolas-Bernard Lépicié (1735 - 1784) and then, in 1773, of Joseph-Marie Vien (1716 - 1809), whom he followed to Rome when, at the end of 1775, Vien became Director of the Académie de France. In Rome he became friends with the painter Jacques-Louis David (1748 - 1825). Returning to France around 1782, he settled in Lyon for a few years before returning to Paris in 1785. One of his first portraits was commissioned by the Baroness d'Etigny, the widow of the former Intendant of the Provinces of Gascony, Bearn and Navarre Antoine Mégret d'Etigny (1719 – 1767). He then became close to his two sons, Mégret de Sérilly and Mégret d'Etigny, who in turn became his patrons. In 1787, this close relationship with the d'Etigny family was further strengthened by his marriage to Antoinette de Saint-Redan, a relative of Madame d'Etigny. After his marriage, he left for Rome and did not return to France until 1789. It was during the winter of 1790-1791 that he painted one of his masterpieces, the portrait of Baron de Besenval. Set in a twilight atmosphere, this portrait of an aristocrat who knows that his death is imminent symbolizes the disappearance of an erudite and refined society which would be swept away by the French Revolution. The Jacobin excesses led Danloux to emigrate to England in 1792; many members of his family-in-law who remained in France were guillotined on 10 May 1794. Danloux enjoyed great success as a portrait painter in England before returning to France in 1801. During his stay in England, Danloux was deeply under the influence of English portraitists: his colors became warmer (as shown by the portrait of the Duc d'Angoulême that we are presenting), and his execution broader. 2. Description of the two portraits and biographical details of the sitters The Duc d'Angoulême (1775-1844) was the eldest son of the Comte d'Artois, the younger brother of King Louis XVI (the future King Charles X), and his wife Marie-Thérèse of Savoie. He is shown here, in the freshness of his youth, wearing the uniform of colonel-general of the "Angoulême-Dragons" regiment. He is wearing the blue cordon of the Order of the Holy Spirit, which was awarded to him in 1787, and two decorations: the Cross of Saint-Louis and the Maltese Cross, as he was also Grand Prior of the Order of Malta. Born on 16 August 1775 in Versailles, Louis-Antoine d'Artois followed his parents into emigration on 16 July 1789. In 1792, he joined the émigrés’ army led by the Prince de Condé. After his stay in Edinburgh (which will be further discussed), he went to the court of the future King Louis XVIII, who was in exile at the time, and in 1799 married his first cousin Marie-Thérèse Charlotte of France, the daughter of Louis XVI and the sole survivor of the royal family. The couple had no descendants. He became Dauphin of France in 1824, upon the accession to the throne of his father but played only a minor political role, preferring his military position as Grand Admiral. Enlisted in Spain on the side of Ferdinand VII, he returned home crowned with glory after his victory at Trocadero in 1823. He reigned for a very short time at the abdication of Charles X in 1830, before relinquishing his rights in favor of his nephew Henri d'Artois, the Duc de Bordeaux. He then followed his father into exile and died on 3 June 1844 in Gorizia (now in Italy). His younger brother, the Duc de Berry, is shown in the uniform of the noble cavalry of the émigrés’ Army. He is wearing the blue cordon of the Order of the Holy Spirit, awarded to him in May 1789, and the Cross of Saint-Louis (partly hidden by his blue cordon). Born on 24 January 1778 in Versailles, Charles-Ferdinand d'Artois also followed his parents into emigration and joined the émigrés’ army in 1792. After his stay in Edinburgh, he remained in Great Britain, where he had an affair with Amy Brown...

This stunning, large portrait oil painting is attributed to Spanish Old Master Claudio Coello who is considered the last great Spanish painter of the 17th century. It has formerly been the property of Lady Beatrice...

Agostino Carracci (1557-1602) Circle of Andromeda and the Sea Monster Oil on canvas 75 x 59 cm. - In frame 96 x 77 cm. The subject of the painting, derived from Ovid's Metamo...

Ferrara school of the late sixteenth century - circle of Giuseppe Mazzuoli known as Bastarolo (Ferrara 1536 - 1589) St. Jerome penitent in the cave ...

Portrait of a Gentleman in Armour and Azure Cloak with Diamond Brooch c.1700 Attributed to Joseph Vivienne (1657-1735) The sitter in this superb portrait, offered by Titan Fine Art...

Pierre Mignard, known as Le Romain (Troyes 1612 - Paris 1695), attributed Portrait of 'Louise Renée de Penancoët de Keroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth and Aubigny (Brest 1649 - Paris 1734) as MADDALENA Oil on canvas 97 x 88 cm In an important gilded frame 132 x 122 cm. Provenance: Private collection, Naples The young and attractive noblewoman portrayed in this painting is Louis Renée de Penancoet de Keroualle, Duchess of Portsmouth and Aubigny (Brest 1649 - Paris 1734), known to have been King Charles II's favourite mistress for over fifteen years, from whose relationship Charles Lennox, 1st Duke of Richmond, was born, but above all to have gone down in history as one of Louis XIV's French informants at the English court. The duchess was a very influential figure at court, promoting French interests and often acting as an intermediary between the king, his ministers and French ambassadors. After the death of Charles II this influence quickly came to an end, forcing her to hastily leave London and renounce all her possessions to return to her homeland, between Aubigny-sur-Nère and Paris, where she died in 1734, always remaining in the sovereign's good graces. The peculiarity of the portrait, probably executed after her return to her homeland, is that the noblewoman takes the form of a charming Mary Magdalene, depicted here following her renunciation of earthly possessions, her rich robes and jewellery, in order to aspire to heavenly riches; We see her immortalised with her long hair loose on one breast, her intriguing but serene gaze directed at the observer, as she rests her crossed hands, as if in prayer, on the ampulla of perfumed ointments and the open book, both iconographic symbols. The custom of being portrayed in the guise of Magdalene was in vogue for powerful women of the great European courts as early as the 16th century, as it represented the most appropriate image to justify the union of female power and virtue. It must be said that court culture exalted only the positive characteristics of her personality, glossing over or downplaying all references to her sinful past and dissolute life. The work, whose style fits perfectly into 17th century French portraiture, suggests the pertinent attribution to the Baroque painter Pierre Mignard (Troyes, 1612 - Paris, 1695), whose works were highly praised and earned him a great reputation as a portrait painter for the demanding Parisian aristocracy at the time of Louis XIV, and who portrayed the Duchess de Kérouaille on numerous occasions. His first important artistic training took place in Simon Vouet's studio, and he then moved to Italy for over twenty years before returning to Paris, blending his own with the influence of Roman classicism. The elegant looseness of touch and sensual refinement typical of Mignard, combined with a very accurate chiaroscuro rendering, inherited from his artistic training in Rome (which he looked up to the examples of Ferdinad Voet), and the exceptional sweetness of the drawing, the floridity of the complexion and the almost enamelled surfaces, and finally, the peculiar pose of the figure portrayed (the beauty of the two intertwined hands...