Hyacinthe Rigaud

1659-1743 • French • Painter • Baroque

"All the particular, special majesty of a portrait of Lo11is XIV by Le Brun or Rigaud will by conquered by the humility of a tuft of grass clearly lit by a ray of sun. " - Theodore Rousseau, 1859

Court painter for the "Sun King," and most renowned for the portrait Louis XIV (1701): Swathed in ermine and wearing a royal blue cape embroidered with gold fleurs-de-lis, his long hair curling over his shoulder, Louis points
his toe in the dainty manner of the minuet, a dance that became popular at his court. A scrupulous record of opulence, the painting is also a sympathetic likeness of the king, who patronized art most lavishly; vibrant color shows the
French interest in FLEMISH art that was supplanting the earlier emphasis on DRAWING upheld by POUSSIN'S followers (see also LINE vs. COLOR). But Rigaud's portrait of Louis was not appreciated by Theodore ROUSSEAU, who wrote the passage quoted above close to a century after Rigaud's death.