Original portrait of Louise-Diane d’Orléans, Princess of Conti, by Pierre Gobert

The portrait held at the Palace of Versailles has been attributed to Pierre Gobert, official painter to the House of Condé, but also one of the leading portraitists at the court of Versailles towards the end of the Sun King’s reign and subsequently under the reign of the Beloved King. The Princess of Conti, Louise-Diane d’Orléans, Louise-Élisabeth of France and Madame Adélaïde, amongst others, posed for the artist, who often depicted them as allegorical figures, in keeping with the fashion of the time. Here, beyond the radiance of her porcelain complexion, it is the effect of the soft, white and pink drapery that enhances the figure, as if she were enveloped in petals made of satiny fabric.

There remains some uncertainty as to whether this is Louise-Élisabeth de Bourbon (1695–1775) or her daughter-in-law Louise d’Orléans (1716–1736). In either case, the portrait depicts a Princess of Conti in ‘Iris’, a portrait of which copies are frequently found. The purchaser of this painting undoubtedly bought the portrait of Louise-Élisabeth de Bourbon (1695–1775), as the art market continues to refer to copies of this portrait. In this context, therefore, it depicts the daughter of the Regent Philippe II d’Orléans (1676–1723) and Françoise Marie de Bourbon (1677–1749), herself the daughter of Louis XIV and Madame de Montespan.

The appeal of Aulteribe’s version lies in its high quality and its format, as the portrait is rectangular and larger than the one held at the Palace of Versailles. It depicts a landscape in the background beneath a stormy sky, framing the face in a highly theatrical manner, between a cloud and a craggy rock, much like an opera set. The delicacy of the hands and the irises is also remarkable.