As one of the premier European miniaturist painters of the seventeenth century, Swiss-born Joseph Werner enjoyed the patronage of royal courts throughout Europe. The artist created two portraits of Louis XIV; the one shown here may have been commissioned by Jean-Baptiste Colbert (1619–1683), the minister of finance for France during the reign of the “Sun King,” as Louis XIV was known. The king’s portrait is accompanied by a pendant depicting his first mistress, Louise de La Vallière (1644–1710). Their costumes appear to be of Hungarian or Polish inspiration, and their face masks, prominent in each image, suggest a costume ball. Werner’s precise description of the decoration and accoutrements of the palace provides a marvelous glimpse of the grandeur of the French court. The setting in both portraits appears to be a palace bedroom. Passionate in his appreciation of music, Louis XIV was equally enamored of dance, a practice at which he excelled. During his reign, the French court played host to all manner of dazzling festivities.
Details
- Artist Name: Joseph Werner (Swiss, 1637-1710)
- Title: Louis XIV in Costume
- Date: c.1663
- Medium: Gouache on parchment (one of a pair)
- Dimensions: 14-3/8 x 10-7/8 in. (36.5 x 27.6 cm)
- Credit Line: Norton Simon Art Foundation, from the Estate of Jennifer Jones Simon
- Accession Number: M.2010.1.189.P
- Copyright: © Norton Simon Art Foundation
Object Information
Lieutenant Colonel Comte Hyacinthe François Joseph Despinoy (1764-1848), (sale, Paris, 23-27 April 1849, possibly lot 133?).
Hippolyte-Alexandre-Gabriel-Walter Destailleur (1822-1893), Paris (sale †, Paris, Hôtel Drouot, 19-23 May 1896, lot 709, as Jean Bérain).
Henri Gallice, Rheims (sale, Paris, Galerie Charpentier, 25 May 1934, lot 4, ill., as Bérain).
[?Maximo] Sciolette.
Private collection, Paris.
[Wildenstein & Co., New York, offered 11 October 1978 and subsequently sold 5 January 1979 to];
Norton Simon, by bequest to;
Jennifer Jones Simon Art Trust, to;
Norton Simon Art Foundation.
- Jeannerat, Carlo, Bulletin de la société de l'histoire de l'art français, pp. 88-91
- Bouvy, Eugène, L'Amateur d'estampes, 1934, pp. 14-16
- Weigert, Roger-Armand, Jean I Bérain, dessinateur de la chambre et du Cabinet du Roi, 1937,
- Glaesemer, Jürgen, Joseph Werner 1637-1710, 1974, pp. 52, 53, 86, 154, 155
- Rosenberg, Pierre, France in the Golden Age, Seventeenth Century French Paintings in American Collections, 1982, pp. 376, 377
- Rumsey, Thomas, Men and Women in Revolution and War, 1600-1815, 1985, pp. 194, 195
- Campbell, Sara, Collector Without Walls: Norton Simon and His Hunt for the Best, 2010, cat. 1567a p. 422
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