Oil painting, 'Portrait of a Young Man', Attributed to Louis Ferdinand Elle, ca. 1685

Three-quarter face portrait of a young, brown-eyed man wearing a banyan in brocaded silk with a floral pattern, a lace cravat and a lace cuff; he has a long brown curly wig.

Bequeathed by Henry Louis Florence

Bequeathed by Henry Louis Florence

This painting was previously catalogued as an anonymous French painting from the 1670s close to the brothers Beaubrun. According to J-C. Boyer (written communication, March 2011), this portrait was most likely executed by Louis Ferdinand Elle (1612- 1689), elder son and pupil of his father, the painter Ferdinand Elle, whom he succeeded as court painter. Like his father he mainly painted portraits even though he also produced mythological scenes and allegories. Most of his paintings are now known only from engravings.

The present portrait depicts a gentleman wearing a banyan of rich brocaded silk lined with mauve silk, a lace cravat and lace cuff to match within a painted oval truncated at top, bottom and sides. The costume suggests a date around 1685 and was therefore painted in the very late period of Elle’s career. Portrait paintings with sitter wearing a banyan were quite fashionable at the end of the 17th century. Pierre Mignard, for instance, executed a self-portrait in a similar outfit around 1690 ( Louvre, Paris - INV 6653).

A painting, Portrait of Samuel Bernard (1615-1687) (Musée National des Châteaux de Versailles et du Trianon, Versailles - Inv. 4389), made as a ‘morceau de réception’ in 1681, depicts a portrait of a man wearing a similar banyan with a close floral pattern. The delicate modelling of the face and diffuse light as well as the sitter’s pose are characteristic of Elle’s manner.

The frame is a 19th century version in composition ('gilder's compo': a mixture of glue, resin, whiting and oil) of the type of carved wood frame which would originally have been used for this picture.

This painting is attributed to the French painter Louis Ferdinand Elle, one of the founder-members of the Académie Royale in 1648. This portrait shows an unidentified young man wearing a lavish brocaded banyan, an outfit that was fashionable in the third quarter of the 17th century, suggesting a date of execution of the painting around 1685. To judge from his rich outfit, the sitter was probably a member of the upper society. Louis Ferdinand Elle was best known for his portraits, most of which are known only from engravings.

P.68-1917