Jean Ranc (Montpellier 1674 – Madrid 1735)

Portrait of a noblewoman in ceremonial attire with Chantilly lace mantilla Attributed to Jean Ranc (Montpellier 1674 – 1735 Madrid) Oil on oval canvas, cm. 72 x 59 With frame 96 x 84 Provenance: Bourbon Castle Collection, France (Saint-Laurent-d'Agny) In our opinion, this portrait depicting a noblewoman should be placed within the production of the workshop of the French painter Jean Ranc, one of the most significant portrait painters of his time and a great interpreter of the French school between the 17th and 18th centuries. After an apprenticeship in Montpellier in the workshop of his father Antoine, in 1696 Ranc moved to Paris to join the workshop of Hyacinthe Rigaud, remaining there subsequently as a collaborator. It portrays a woman of high social extraction, dressed in a brocade ceremonial dress adorned with a rich white Chantilly lace mantilla, and immortalized in three-quarter view, with her gaze directed at the viewer. Note the careful rendering of the facial features, the attention to the nuances of the complexion, and the sharpness of the contours emphasized by the light. For comparative purposes, we can mention the painting 'Portrait d'une grande dame', by Jean Ranc, now at the Musée des Beaux-Arts de Narbonne, in which we can find the same clothing (see museum link: https://webmuseo.com/ws/musees-narbonne/app/collection/record/398), created between 1700 and 1734, a time frame within which we can easily place our canvas as well. Thanks to his proximity to the great painter Rigaud, already established in the field of French portraiture, Ranc began his personal ascent in Parisian high society around 1700, and made a great contribution to the emergence of ceremonial portraiture, combining the careful representation of physiognomy and the charm of color, the psychology of the sitter and their social status, the splendor of attributes and the relaxation of the pose. The work is presented in very good condition. Completed by a magnificent carved and gilded wooden frame of the period. Comes with an expertise of authenticity (FIMA ITALIA). Professional and insured shipping under our responsibility.