A portrait of the Duchess of Fontanges

Description of the work

17th-century French school, portrait of Marie Angélique de Scorailles, Duchess of Fontanges (1661–1681), c. 1680. Oil on canvas, 59.5 × 50.7 cm. Château d’Aulteribe (Sermentizon)
© Philippe Berthé / Centre des Monuments Nationaux

The Duchess of Fontanges remains famous for having been the mistress of King Louis XIV, who at that time had abandoned his official mistress, Madame de Montespan. Shortly after arriving at court in 1679, she gave herself to the king whilst she was only seventeen years old, and soon gave birth to a son (1780), who died after a month, leaving the young woman ill as a result of this premature birth. As a parting gift, Louis XIV bestowed upon her the Duchy of Fontanges. The young woman then retired to Chelles Abbey, where her sister was abbess, before being taken to Port-Royal Abbey shortly before her death in 1681.

Renowned for her great beauty, she is mentioned by Roger de Bussy-Rabutin in his *Histoire amoureuse des Gaules* (vol. II of the manuscript held at the Bibliothèque nationale). Angélique de Scorrailles is described there as having ‘the most beautiful eyes one has ever seen; her mouth is small and rosy, and her complexion and neck are admirable; but what charms me most is a certain gentle and modest air that is neither aloof nor overly forward’. And Bussy concludes: ‘If we draw a fair comparison between our heroine’s merits and the qualities of those who preceded her in her role, we shall find that, even without the aid of her beauty, she surpasses them all.’

The presence of the Marquise de Fontanges at Aulteribe is significant, since Henriette Onslow (1814–1883), who married the Marquis Joseph de Pierre in 1839, was the daughter of George Onslow and Delphine de Fontanges (1790–1879).

The iconography of Marie-Angélique de Scoraille (or d’Escorailles) de Roussille, Duchess of Fontanges, remains largely unknown as the young woman died aged barely twenty. Portraits painted during her lifetime are therefore rare. The only certainty we have, according to the account of Simon-Philippe Mazière de Monville, is that the painter Pierre Mignard produced some at the King’s request: ‘He had also painted the portrait of Madame de Fontanges, and the King himself had found that the painter had in no way diminished the charms of this beautiful lady ’ (Simon-Philippe Mazière de Monville, *La vie de Pierre Mignard, premier peintre du roy*, p. 106). An inventory of the King’s paintings, drawn up in 1709 and 1710, confirms its presence at Versailles: ‘Portrait of Madame de Fontanges, dressed in a blue cloak, seated and leaning against a crimson velvet cushion, holding roses and an anemone in her hands; the figure is lifelike; measuring 3 feet 3 inches high by 3 feet 9 inches wide; oval in shape, within a gilded border.” (Advielle, 1900, p. 16). The portrait of Angélique de Fontanges still appears in the 1760 inventory of the King’s paintings, alongside *Louis XIV and the Ambassadors of Siam* by Le Brun, *The Grand Dauphin, Philip V and the Duke of Burgundy* by Rigaud, and *The Duchess of Burgundy* by Santerre (Stéphane Castelluccio, 2009, p. 36). However, despite a description that one might consider relatively precise, the art market offers numerous paintings that could match the model sought.

Victor Advielle once considered that a painting held at the Prado Museum in Madrid, attributed to Pierre Mignard and identified as depicting Mademoiselle de Fontanges, was the only authentic portrait of Madame de Fontanges. He surmises that this painting came to be in the Prado Museum because it had been inherited by the grandson of Louis XIV, the Duke of Anjou, who became King of Spain in 1700. The painting, which is of poor quality, is no longer recognised by the Prado as a portrait of Angélique de Fontanges, let alone attributed to Pierre Mignard.

Numerous portraits purported to depict Madame de Fontanges are held in public or private collections, but their origins are unknown or questionable, and their formats do not correspond to the description given by Simon-Philippe Mazière de Monville. The art market regularly features portraits purportedly depicting the duchess, frequently attributed to Pierre Mignard (Sotheby’s auction, London, 5 April 1995, or Tajan auction, June 1996). Patrick Daguenet has identified four smaller-scale copies based on Pierre Mignard’s original portrait; each of these paintings depicts only the bust from the original portrait, in a square format, without the flowers, but always featuring a pearl necklace.

The portrait by Aulteribe is probably one of the many versions painted in the^17th century, most likely based on the engraving by Nicolas III de Larmessin, printed six years after the death of the Duchess of Fontanges. In it, she wears a lace chemise which would have been covered by a whalebone corset, allowing the lace to show only along the neckline, as was the fashion from the beginning of Louis XIV’s reign. Here, the chemise is fully visible, covered only at the shoulders by a blue velvet cloak, lined with satin and fastened to the chemise by a brooch. The outfit is more in keeping with the dresses recently brought into fashion by Madame de Montespan to conceal her pregnancies. These loose-fitting dresses are known as ‘Innocentes’, ‘battantes’, ‘déshabillées’, ‘négligées ’ or ‘robes de chambre’. They may be worn officially at Court. The sleeves are short and puffed, offering a glimpse of the chemise’s lace.

The portrait at the Château d’Aulteribe, like the one kept at the Château de Bussy-Rabutin, is very similar to this engraving, particularly in terms of the hairstyle, which is not the one the Duchess brought into fashion. Whilst the rendering of the face and the lace is quite luminous and delicate, the folds of the blue cloak are rendered in a more rough-and-ready manner.