Larguille, Nicolas de

The father of Nicola de Larguillera, a merchant, took his three-year-old son to Antwerp ; Nicola later lived in London for about two years. His father wanted the boy to go along the trading part, but he showed a penchant for drawing and, upon returning to Antwerp, began his studies in the workshop of Anthony Gubo from 1668. In 1672 he was admitted to the Antwerp Guild of St. Bows . At the age of eighteen he again went to England , made acquaintance with Peter Leli , under whose leadership in 1675–1679 he restored (with Antonio Verrio ) paintings in the Windsor Castle and created his own works of historical content, as well as painted still lifes and portraits ; was influenced by Rubens and van Dyck .

The mastery of the painter attracted the attention of Charles II , who wanted to leave him in his service; but the disclosure of the Reyhaus Conspiracy in 1683 jeopardized his safety as a Catholic, and Larguille was forced to leave the country. Since 1682, Largillier worked in Paris , where he devoted himself primarily to portraiture. In Paris, he was praised by Lebrun and Adam van der Meilen . The brilliant possession of color and the liveliness of the brushstroke attracted many of the then celebrities in his studio: actresses, public figures, famous preachers. Among the most famous models of the painter were Pierre Daniel Hue , Bishop of Avranches , Cardinal de Noai , the Duclos family and President Lambert with his family.

Jacob II , who reigned in England in 1685, called the artist to his place and offered the post of keeper of the royal collections, but the artist did not accept the offer, still being impressed by the events of two years ago. During his stay in London, he painted a portrait of Charles II and began a portrait of the Queen.

Returning to Paris at the beginning of 1686, he became an honorary member of the French Academy . As an introductory work, he presented a portrait of Lebrun, one of the peaks of his work. The portrait is presented at work, surrounded by classic busts and statuettes.

In 1690, Largillier was included in the list of Academy members as a historical painter. His highest achievement in this area is the multi-figure compositions created for the Parisian church of Saint Etienne du Mont in 1694. Another historical and biblical canvas, which appeared later in 1720 ("The Entry of Christ into Jerusalem "), testifies, among other things, to the extraordinary talent of the landscape painter . In the portraiture of Largillier, like his other colleagues of that time, the landscape also played an important role and was used as the background for the figures. Landscapes and iridescent pastel colors by Larguillera anticipate the art of Rococo .

Portraits are the best part of the artist’s heritage. In them, over time, he sought greater freedom and naturalness in painting, in the depiction of poses, outfits. From the Flemish school in the art of Larguillera there are such features as warm colors, wide thick strokes, wavy lines that give the paintings dynamism. One of the artist’s most realistic paintings and one of the masterpieces of French portraiture is The Man in the Lilac Robe (1700). Stylistically, this work is close to the portrait of the sculptor Charles Boucher, which appeared two years later. Some features of the technique of oil painting make these works related to the work of Velazquez .

Three different genres in which the artist excelled were embodied in 1710 in the film “ Louis XIV with his family”, the characters of which were Louis himself, the teacher of his great-grandson and the customer of the picture, the Duchess Vantadur , her pupil, the young duke of Breton (who died three years later) , the son of the king, Dauphin Louis , and finally the eldest son of this latter, the Duke of Burgundy . In addition to the main portrait genre of the work, there is a landscape on the canvas behind the prince, and a still life next to the governess. A year later, the master’s self-portrait was created - the only one where he portrays himself in the open air, in the company of his wife and daughter, and not at work at the easel in the twilight of the studio, as in other cases (including the last self-portrait created in 1725; in the contrast between light and dark recalls Karavadzhevsky “ chiaroscuro ”).

In 1714, one of the artist’s most unusual works appeared - “A Study of Various Types of Hands”, from which one can see how broadly the author mastered the techniques of oil painting: he paints his hands in thick layers, depicts fabric in thin layers (Larguillera was famous for his skill in conveying texture).

1718 - the year of the creation of the famous portrait of Voltaire .

Toward the end of his life, Largillier paints more and more male portraits of persons belonging to the Parisian bourgeoisie, whose names, as a rule, are not established (in this area, his main rival was Iacent Rigaud , who, however, preferred to write aristocrats). The intimate portraits of the Larguillera brush are marked by the marsiness of individual characteristics. In general, he preferred private orders to official ones: this was due to less responsibility and faster payment. The artist also created group portraits designed to perpetuate a special occasion (“The meeting of the Paris City Hall in 1687”, a sketch for the lost painting). Success was accompanied by career growth. In 1722, the artist became the director, and in 1743, three years before his death, the chancellor of the Academy. After the death of Larguillera, some of his landscapes and still lifes became known to the general public; the best of these works is Forest Landscape.

The most outstanding student of the master was Jean Baptiste Oudry . Other students are the French portrait painter , the Hungarian artist Adam Maniok, and the Swedish painter Gustaf Lundberg .

• Larguille in museums in the world