Artwork
Portrait of the Marquise d'Aguirandes
Portrait of the Marquise d'Aguirandes is an oil painting by the Rococo painting artist François-Hubert Drouais. It dates from 1759 and is held in the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art.
About this work
Subject & Meaning
Rendered in oil on canvas in 1759 by François‑Hubert Drouais, the portrait records her appearance and conveys the status associated with her noble lineage.
The work depicts a woman identified as the Marquise d'Aguirandes, a French aristocrat of the mid‑18th century. Rendered in oil on canvas in 1759 by François‑Hubert Drouais, the portrait records her appearance and conveys the status associated with her noble lineage. Its composition and attire reflect the visual conventions used to signal social distinction among French elites at the time.
The painting is part of the Cleveland Museum of Art's collection, where it is displayed as an example of Rococo‑era portraiture.
Technique & Style
The portrait is executed in oil paint on canvas, a standard support for mid-eighteenth-century French portraiture. Its dimensions are 101.0 cm in height by 85.6 cm in width, giving it a substantial upright format suited to a full-length or three-quarter-length depiction of the Marquise d'Aguirandes. The work was produced in France in 1759 by François-Hubert Drouais, and it is classified as a portrait painting.
The medium and canvas support are consistent with the academic oil-painting tradition of the period, in which layered oil glazes over a prepared canvas ground allowed for the smooth, polished finish typical of formal aristocratic commissions.
No specific information regarding the painting's current condition, surface handling, or detailed stylistic qualities is documented in the available sources.
History & Provenance
The Portrait of the Marquise d'Aguirandes was created by François-Hubert Drouais in 1759, executed in oil paint on canvas in France. The painting subsequently entered the collection of the Cleveland Museum of Art, where it is held today. Its accession number at the museum is 1942.638.
The sources do not document the original commissioner, the sitter's identity beyond her title, the chain of intermediate owners between the 18th-century creation and the museum's acquisition, or the specific circumstances of its 1942 accession.
Overview
Completed in 1759 by François-Hubert Drouais, Portrait of the Marquise d'Aguirandes is an oil painting that exemplifies the Rococo style of the mid-18th century. Drouais, a favored portraitist during Louis XV's reign, captured the likeness of a noblewoman, reflecting the era's refined aesthetic. This work is now part of the collection at The Cleveland Museum of Art.
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Artist & collection
Artist
François-Hubert Drouais (French pronunciation:; Paris, 14 December 1727 – Paris, 21 October 1775) was a leading French portrait painter during the latter years of Louis XV's reign.
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