1615 -1672 · Nancy, Rome, Paris and Saint-Cloud

Bright silks, princely identities and mythological metamorphoses make Jean Nocret the great portraitist of the House of Orléans under Louis XIV.

Jean Nocret was born in Nancy in 1615 and completed his training in Italy, where copying masters and studying grand decor prepared his court career. Installed in Paris in 1644, he received accommodation at the Tuileries then in the galleries of the Louvre. He became an ordinary painter to the young Louis XIV and especially to Philippe de France, brother of the king, called Monsieur. This lasting patronage opened up princely apartments, decorative projects and a vast network of royal models. Nocret painted Anne of Austria, Marie-Thérèse, the Grand Dauphin, the Grande Mademoiselle, Louise de La Vallière and numerous portraits of Henriette of England, Duchess of Orléans. He mastered representation portraiture : legible pose, clear complexion, abundant silks and accessories capable of indicating age, rank and function. But his most original specialty is the historical portrait, where a real character appears as a mythological, literary or allegorical figure. The Historical Portrait of Henriette of England thus combines resemblance, costume and poetic invention. This practice culminates in the Mythological Portrait of the Family of Louis XIV, painted in 1670 for the Château de Saint-Cloud. Louis XIV becomes Apollo, Marie-Thérèse Juno and the other members of the dynasty of the gods of Olympus. The painting does not only constitute a family reunion: it transforms the political hierarchy in cosmic order, while allowing each face to remain recognizable. Color plays an essential role. Lapis lazuli blues, reds, golds and carnations orchestrate the eighteen figures without dissolving their identities. Nocret also participated in the decorations of the Tuileries and Saint-Cloud, a large part of which disappeared, notably during the castle fire in the 19th century. Received at the Royal Academy in 1663, he became an advisor, professor then rector. Died in Paris in 1663, he became advisor, professor then rector. Died in Paris in 1663, he became advisor, professor and then rector. Died in Paris in 1663, he became advisor, professor and then rector. Died in Paris in 1663, he became advisor, professor and then rector. Died in Paris in 1663, he became advisor, professor and then rector. Died in Paris in 1663, he became advisor, professor and then rector. Died in Paris in 1663, he became advisor, professor and then rector. Died in Paris in 1663, he became advisor, court. The "Jean Nocret" selection notably compares Mythological portrait of the family of Louis XIV and Anne of Austria. Its reading favors details.

Nocret not only disguises his models as gods: he uses mythology to make visible the order, alliances and imagination of the court.