Jacques Liébault (? - 1752 Paris) - Lot 124

Jacques Liébault (? - 1752 Paris) Bust portrait of Adrien-Maurice de Noailles (1678-1766), Duke of Noailles, Marshal of France, known as "le maréchal de Noailles", circa 1740 Oil on canvas (original canvas) 81.5 x 61.5 cm. On the back, handwritten annotation dating from the 18th century, in black paint: Peint par Liébault / à Paris Presented in a fine Louis XV period gilded wood frame. Related works: - 18th-century French school after Jacques Liébault, Portrait du maréchal de Noailles, oil on canvas, Château de Maintenon (Eure-et-Loir), inv. no. unknown. - Jean-François Cars (1661-1738), after Jacques Liébault, portrait of Maréchal de Noailles, engraving, in reverse, Versailles, musée des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, inv. unknown. - Henri Simon Thomassin (1687-1741), d'après Jacques Liébault, portrait du maréchal de Noailles, engraving, Versailles, musée des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, inv. GRAV 7181 - Louis-Jacques Cathelin (1738-1804) after Jacques Liébault, portrait of Marshal de Noailles, engraving, Versailles, musée des châteaux de Versailles et de Trianon, inv. GRAV 6960. The discovery of this portrait of one of the most valiant commanders of Louis XV's army brings to light this painter, relegated to the shadow of Hyacinthe Rigaud, but whose corpus deserves an ambitious study. Possibly the son of a painter himself - a "Pierre Liébault" is listed as a painter (deceased) in Paris in 1699 - our Jacques Liébault was a member of the Académie de Saint-Luc, listed as "adjoint à professeur adjoint" in 1748, then as a professor upon his death in April 1752. He seems to have devoted himself mainly to the portrait genre, although he also produced a few religious paintings. In the convent of the Congrégation Notre-Dame des chanoinesses de Saint-Augustin, in Mattaincourt (Vosges), we find an "Apothéose de saint Pierre Fourier", signed and dated 1734, and a "Christ adoré par les anges" in the church of Saint-Martin in Châtenay-en-France (Val-d'Oise), dated 1736. He is also the author of a monumental cycle of four paintings on the life of Saint John the Baptist, still visible in the Saint-Jean-Baptiste church in Verdun-sur-le-Doubs (Saône-et-Loire), signed and dated 1746. He seems to have been regularly commissioned by the clergy, since portraits of Minimes, Récollets and Benedictines are known from the 1730s. Anecdotally, he seems to have particularly favored the same format, with dimensions of around 80 centimeters in height and 60 centimeters in width, a format found in almost the entire corpus known from public collections and archival records. The exception to this rule is the superb portrait of Simon-Claude Grassin de Glatigny (1701-1776), in the uniform of his own regiment, preserved at Les Invalides (oil on canvas, 164 x 115 cm, Musée de l'Armée, inv. 10395). Dated 1749, it commemorates the "Farewell to Arms" of its model, whose regiment was disbanded the previous year. The model in our portrait was born into one of the kingdom's most illustrious families, and played an admirable part in its renown. Son of Anne-Jules de Noailles (1650-1708) - already a marshal himself in 1693 - Adrien-Maurice, demonstrating martial qualities from an early age, joined the King's Bodyguard regiment, rising through the ranks to become Lieutenant-General in 1706, at the age of 28. He took part in the War of Spanish Succession, the War of Polish Succession and the War of Austrian Succession. He was elevated to the dignity of Marshal of France on June 14, 1734, after the victorious siege of Philippsbourg, alongside Marshal Bidal d'Asfeld. In our portrait, he proudly wears the jewel of the Order of the Golden Fleece (Spanish), received in 1702, and the blue cordon of the Order of the Holy Spirit, received in 1724. In addition to his military career, he also served as a minister, first during the Regency, as President of the Finance Council, then as Minister of State in 1743, and Secretary of State for Foreign Affairs in 1744, when he was one of the first advocates of the "reversal of alliance", suggesting a rapprochement with Austria. He was one of five Marshals in his family, which ranks second among the families that have produced the most Marshals in the Kingdom, equalled only by the House of Durfort and surpassed only by the now extinct House of Montmorency. NB: Photo credits for Grassin's portrait: Photo (C) Paris - Musée de l'Armée, Dist. RMN-Grand Palais / Emilie Cambier