This was just the sort of thing that captivated pre-adolescent me, that set me dreaming. (All my dreams of the time played out in eighteenth-century France, bien sûr.) I had a color postcard of this particular painting, too, procured I have no idea where. I'm just a bit less enthralled, all these years later; I find that de Troy's vague, poorly drawn faces - typical of nearly all his contemporaries' work, as well - rather detract from the charm of the thing. But I still admire the strong composition, the well-understood and well-delineated spatial relationships, the beautifully rendered fabrics, and the delicious color scheme.
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| By far my favorite part of the painting, this delightful little foot. |
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Jean-François de Troy (27 January 1679, Paris – 26 January 1752, Rome), French painter, draughtsman, and tapestry designer, best remembered now for his genre scenes. His father and first teacher was the portrait painter François de Troy. After the son failed to win the
Prix de Rome, he traveled to Italy at his father's expense, remaining there from 1699 to 1706; he stayed initially in Rome, where he was given a room at the French Academy. In 1708 he was admitted to the
Académie royale de peinture et de sculpture, certainly with some help from his father who was then the director of that institution. He undertook royal commissions at Versailles and Fontainebleau between 1724 and 1737. He was twice ennobled: the first time when he bought the office of the
secrétaire du roi, and the second when he was awarded the
ordre de Saint Michel. He left France in 1738 following his appointment as director of the French Academy in Rome. He resided the rest of his life there where, according to contemporary reports, he lived a luxurious life style, entertaining the elite of Roman society. In contrast, his personal life was filled with tragedy: his wife died at an early age, as well as all seven of their children. He, himself, died in Rome a day short of his seventy-third birthday.
