Joshua REYNOLDS (atelier de) - Lot 77

Joshua REYNOLDS (atelier de) Louis Philippe, Duc de Chartres, future Duc d'Orléans, in the uniform of Colonel General of the Hussars, wearing the insignia of the Holy Spirit Oil on canvas (refinished, restorations). 230 x 145 cm A.B.E. Historical background: This imposing portrait depicts the Duc de Chartes, future Duc d'Orléans, in the uniform of Colonel General of the Hussars. The original portrait would have been painted either in 1779 (to celebrate King Louis XVI's newly-created appointment of him as Colonel General of the Hussars) or, more likely, around 1785, when the sitter was in London. According to Reynolds, the Duc d'Orléans was "the most elegant man", noting that "many men looked graceful when in motion, but the Duc d'Orléans was the only man to look so graceful when motionless". The father of the future King Louis Philippe is shown here standing, his horse held by a servant, wearing the Chevalier de l'Ordre du Saint Esprit sash on his dolman and the plaque of the same order on his pelisse. Related work: - A large-scale example (670 x 430) in the collections of the Musée Condé in Chantilly, from the Duc d'Aumale's collections (Inv PE 145). - A copy of the same size as ours in the British Royal Collections (RCIN 404555), damaged in the fire at Carlton House on June 8, 1824. This portrait was commissioned by George IV in 1785. Biography : Louis Philippe Joseph, Duc d'Orléans (1747-1793), great-grandson of Duke Philippe II, husband of Louise Marie Adélaïde de Bourbon-Penthièvre. Open to all novelties, a Freemason (Grand Master in 1786), he first served in the navy. He soon proved to be a resolute opponent at the Assembly of Notables (1787), then at the Estates General, where he was a deputy for the nobility. He was exiled to England from October 1789 to July 1790. Elected deputy for Paris at the Convention (September 1792), he took the name "Philippe Égalité" and voted for the death of his cousin the king. But when his son, the future King Louis-Philippe, deserted with Dumouriez, he was arrested (April 1793), sentenced to death and guillotined (November 1793).