Marie-Anne de Bragelongne by Robert Tournières

Robert Le Vrac Tournières was a contemporary of Hyacinthe Rigaud and Nicolas de Largillierre, the two great masters of portraiture in the^17th century. The artist achieved fame and fortune in the genre of portraiture, although he also distinguished himself in other fields.

Trained initially in Normandy, he entered the Académie de Saint-Luc in Paris, the successor to the Paris painters’ guild, where he was admitted as a master painter in 1695. He then chose to continue his training under Bon Boullogne (1649–1717), renowned for the quality of his teaching, and there Tournières met artists who would go on to make their mark in the first half of the^18th century, such as Nicolas Bertin, Pierre Dulin, Charles Parrocel, Jean Raoux and Jean-Baptiste Santerre. He was the only one to also frequent Hyacinthe Rigaud’s (1659–1743) studio, a fact attested by his ‘Livre de raison’, which mentions him in 1698 and 1699 in connection with several copies executed entirely in his own hand. This trust placed in him by his master sets him apart from most of his fellow assistants, who were generally tasked with painting accessories or clothing at best.

He was the only one of Rigaud’s pupils, alongside Jean Ranc, to have enjoyed a brilliant career as a portraitist. His style, however, differs considerably from that of his master, maintaining a certain distance from his subjects, with slightly more static poses and a much cooler colour palette. The gestures are graceful and affected. As was customary, he adorns his patrons with billowing drapery with iridescent sheen and fine batiste, infuses a light breeze into their delicately curled, powdered wigs, and embellishes the composition with an accessory. He carries on the French portrait tradition with a realism and vigour that confirms the Dutch influence on French art.

Admitted to the Royal Academy of Painting and Sculpture as a portraitist in 1701, Tournières was accepted the following year with two portraits of academy members. From the 1704 Salon onwards, he exhibited almost as frequently as Rigaud or Largillierre. He became a professor at the Academy, whilst never abandoning the art of portraiture, with his works regularly appearing at the Salon. He was notably the portraitist to the Regent, to chancellors, as well as to figures from various social classes: ministers, magistrates, ladies of the court, artists and merchants. He thus left behind more than two hundred portraits, most of which are held in private collections.