Collection of the Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami

Portrait of Jean Baptiste Budes

Artist/Maker Justus van Egmont (The Netherlands, 1601-1674)

Artist/Maker Robert Nanteuil (France, 1623-1678)

Dateafter 1656

Mediumoil on canvas

DimensionsSight: 47 3/4 x 36 3/4 in. (121.3 x 93.3 cm)
Framed: 60 1/4 x 49 3/8 x 4 in. (153 x 125.4 x 10.2 cm)

ClassificationsVisual Works

Credit LineBequest of Charlotte Breyer Rodgers through exchange

Terms

Object number89.0044

On View

Not on view

Collections

Art of Europe

DescriptionThis elegant portrait of a nobleman is painted after an engraving by Robert Nanteuil, who operated a distinguished atelier and was renowned as a court painter, pasteliste, and engraver to France's King Louis XIV. The subject is believed to be Jean-Baptiste Budes, Comte de Guebriant, who was promoted to commander of the armies of the king in Alsace, Germany, and after distinguishing himself during the Thirty Years' War was named Marshall of France. This painting typifies the paradox that characterizes much French 17th century ceremonial or official portraiture, which embraced, to a limited extent, Italy's Baroque legacy of theatricality and extravagance but largely rejected its excess in favor of a more classical, rational, and subdued style. In this portrait, dramatic contrasts between light and dark elements, as well as elaborately rendered textures, are tempered by a restrained, formal quality, appropriate for the dignified, highly regarded, and reputedly pious subject.