Lot 2077 Dα

With an old inscription on the reverse: „Madame (…) La Duchesse de Bourgogne (…)" - The identification of the sitter as Marie Adélaïde of Savoy, Duchess of Burgundy, is not out of the question, especially when one compares this picture with the portrait by Jean Baptiste Santerre in Versailles (see il. 1)

Marie Adélaïde of Savoy came to the French court as the wife of Louis de Bourbon at 11 years of age, but at first was kept away from her future husband due to her youth. Louis XIV loved Marie Adélaïde's childish pranks. She was declared the favourite of the aging king, always knowing how to entertain and cheer him up, until her early death. The putti in this image, which can be seen in a similar variation in the portrait by Santerre, can be read as a reference to her popularity at court.