(Montpellier 1677–1743 Paris) Allegorical portrait of a lady of the Versailles court as a vestal, oil on canvas, 226 x 144 cm, framed

Provenance: American private collection. Literature: J. Claparède, “Un tricentenaire oublié: Jean Raoux”, in: Menestral, L’Art des pays d’oc, 10/11, 1977, no. 15; C. Constans, Musée National du Château de Versailles, Catalogue des Peintures, Paris 1980, no. 3751; A. C. Steland, “Vestalinnen – Ein zeittypisches Werk des Malers Jean Raoux um 1730, angeregt durch ein Werk wissenschaftlicher Literatur und ein Opéra-Ballet”, in: Artibus et Historiae, no. 29, 1994, pp. 135–152, fig. 4; Figures de la Passion, exhibition catalogue, Musée de la Musique, Paris 2001/2002, p. 240; C. Constans, Musée National du Château de Versailles, Les Peintures, Paris 1995, vol. 2 (pl. II, no. 4144). This allegorical portrait shows a young lady of the Versailles court in a white dress as she worships the Roman goddess of hearth, home, and family in the Temple of Vesta. In the goddess’s honour, an eternal fire was burning in her temple, which was guarded by the Vestal Virgins. The entrance to the temple offers a view of a park, with a fountain in the background. The figure of Cupid, about to light the fire of love with a torch, is a tongue-in-cheek hint that the beautiful priestesses’ virginity does not have to be taken all too seriously. Our painting is the only original invention Raoux conceived on the basis of a popular composition scheme of which four slightly varied autograph versions are known. The first version was lost in a fire in Bordeaux in the 19th century. A further version from Versailles, dated 1733, is in the Musée des Beaux-Arts in Dijon. Another version, considerably reduced in size, is currently being offered on the South German art market. Our version distinctly deviates particularly in the depiction of the sitter. The other three versions are more or less variants or autograph copies of the portrait of Madame Boucher, which was destroyed in Bordeaux, whereas our painting shows a remarkably younger and hitherto unidentified lady. Jean Raoux was a student of Jean Ranc and Bon de Boullogne in Paris. In 1704 he received the Grand Prix of the Académie Royale and in 1717 was admitted as a member.